RFK Jr. Confirmed, Elevating Anti-Vaccine Activist To Nation’s Top Health Post

RFK — Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the nominee to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, during a Senate Finance Committee hearing on Jan. 29. (Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post)

By Lauren Weber and Rachel Roubein

The Senate confirmed Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, placing a member of the storied Democratic family in President Donald Trump’s Cabinet and giving the anti-vaccine activist oversight of the nation’s nearly $2 trillion health portfolio.

The former presidential candidate turned leader of the Make America Healthy Again movement will now helm a vast government apparatus that oversees critical health insurance programs, the safety of the nation’s drug and food supply and the response to infectious-disease outbreaks — influencing health policy that touch all corners of American life.

As one of Trump’s most controversial nominees, Kennedy was confirmed in a 52 to 48 vote largely along party lines, with Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) as the lone exception.

McConnell’s childhood bout with polio has informed his ardent support for vaccines amid increasing skepticism of the shots within his own party.

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