PolitiFact is live fact-checking the confirmation hearings for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Kash Patel, two of President Donald Trump's Cabinet picks.
To watch Kennedy's confirmation hearing, viewers can look to the Senate Finance Committee website on Wednesday and the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee website on Thursday. C-SPAN and a plethora of broadcast and cable media outlets will broadcast live what is likely to be a contentious confirmation hearing on television.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will face the Senate Health Committee on Thursday morning for a second day of confirmation hearings, after testifying before the Senare Finance Committee on Wednesday.
Sen. Bill Cassidy, the top Republican on the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, concluded Thursday's hearing by saying he was "struggling" with the nomination due to Kennedy's vaccine positions. Kennedy notably refused to say vaccines don't cause autism as he faced pointed question from lawmakers.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a former presidential candidate and environmental activist, endorsed Donald Trump last year and threw his weight behind a campaign to “Make America Healthy Again.” For the past two decades he has been best known for airing skeptical views on vaccines.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has said vaccines are not safe. His support for abortion access has made conservatives uncomfortable.
Kyra Kennedy, 29, is the youngest daughter of health secretary nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
If confirmed by the Senate, Kennedy would head the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which oversees many of the country’s health agencies, from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Kathleen "Kick" Kennedy is the eldest daughter of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who could be confirmed as health secretary in Trump's administration.
The many controversial people appointed to the Trump administration, from Elon Musk to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., have at least one thing in common: They dislike and distrust experts. While anti-intellectualism and populism are nothing new in American life,
Cassidy is expected to challenge RFK Jr. on his vaccine skepticism and views on public health in today's confirmation hearing.
If approved, Kennedy will control a $1.7 trillion agency that oversees food and hospital inspections, hundreds of health clinics, vaccine recommendations and health insurance for roughly half the country.