Republican senators say RFK Jr. must ‘explain’ his vaccine criticism and other views

Republican senators are poised to decide whether Robert F. Kennedy Jr. becomes the nation’s next health secretary. But in interviews this week, a half-dozen GOP lawmakers said they had questions or outright concerns about his nomination, with several citing his vaccine skepticism, as they weighed whether to vote for him.

“Look, I believe in vaccines. I think they’ve saved millions of lives,” Sen. Mike Rounds (R-South Dakota) said in an interview. “If he has a different point of view, then he’ll have to explain them to us.”

President-elect Donald Trump last week selected Kennedy to run the Department of Health and Human Services, the nearly $2 trillion agency that oversees federal health insurance programs, medical regulations and vaccine approvals. The selection has alarmed federal health leaders and medical groups, who say Kennedy should be nowhere near the nation’s public health infrastructure given that he has repeated debunked claims about vaccines and made other false or questionable assertions.

The pick has also scrambled Capitol Hill, with Republicans trying to decide whether to vote for a former Democrat who has supported abortion, attacked the pharmaceutical industry and wants to change U.S. agriculture policies, among other positions that challenge GOP orthodoxy.

In interviews Monday and Tuesday with nearly two dozen senators, several GOP lawmakers said they enthusiastically supported Kennedy’s candidacy.

“I think he’s great,” said Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Oklahoma), adding that he came to know Kennedy during the presidential campaign. “He’s very sharp, very knowledgeable on these issues.”

Other senators said they wanted to hear directly from Kennedy about his views and plans for the massive health department, although they did not rule out supporting him.

“We’ve got a process,” said Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana), a physician and incoming chairman of the Senate Health Committee, adding that Kennedy would get an opportunity to “define” his views on vaccines when facing lawmakers.

Several GOP lawmakers said they were curious about Kennedy’s stances, having never met him and only read about his proposals. The independent-presidential-candidate-turned-Trump-ally has taken aim at decades of U.S. agricultural practices, such as calling to revisit pesticides in farming and the use of GMOs, genetically modified foods - ideas that have roiled some farmers in heartland states that went for Trump.

“I work in [agriculture] all the time. That’s what I do,” said Sen. John Hoeven (R-North Dakota), referencing his constituents who are ranchers and farmers. “I want to make sure he understands the realities of the challenges we face out there.”

The senators’ cautious comments about Kennedy underscore the unusual dynamics after Republicans won control of the White House and both chambers of Congress - and Trump quickly announced controversial and unconventional Cabinet picks, effectively daring GOP lawmakers to oppose him.

While several of those selections have stunned GOP leaders, including Trump’s pick of former GOP congressman Matt Gaetz to serve as attorney general and former Democratic congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence, multiple Republican political advisers told The Washington Post that opposing one of Trump’s picks before they have been officially nominated is viewed as politically risky. GOP lawmakers may also try to block only one or several of the most controversial nominees rather than make a stand against all of them.

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Kennedy, who founded a prominent anti-vaccine group, would be an unprecedented selection to run the nation’s health department, with allies insisting he would shake up the agency, while critics maintain he could further undermine vaccine confidence. Kennedy’s representatives have previously denied to The Post that he is anti-vaccine.

Some of his views - such as his disdain for the pharmaceutical industry and his recent stance supporting abortion until the point of fetal viability, which is typically 22 to 24 weeks of pregnancy - also clash with traditional GOP postures, instead sharing common ground with Democrats.

But Kennedy is expected to face an uphill battle to peel off votes from Democrats, who have offered much sharper criticism of the longtime environmental activist who was once their ally. If the party unites in opposition to Kennedy, then he can afford only three defections from Republican senators and still be confirmed, barring a change in the outcome of the Pennsylvania Senate race that’s undergoing a recount.

“I’m going to keep an open mind … but this is one nominee whose public statements and record make me gravely concerned,” said Sen. Chris Coons (D-Delaware), singling out Kennedy’s “truly alarming antiscientific views” on whether children should receive vaccines.

GOP Sens. Susan Collins (Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), who repeatedly broke with their party on Trump’s policies and nominations during his first administration, said they were still considering the nomination. Murkowski said she was concerned by Kennedy’s years of vaccine criticism, citing vulnerable populations in her home state.

“We’re focused on how we encourage higher vaccination rates, particularly among our kids,” Murkowski said.

Kennedy’s nomination is set to run through the Senate Finance Committee early next year, which is slated to be led by Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho). The panel is charged with holding a hearing on the HHS nominee, providing lawmakers with a public forum to quiz Kennedy on his past stances and new priorities. The committee would then vote on whether to send the nomination for consideration before the full Senate.

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A candidate’s reception on the Hill can change during the confirmation process. Robert M. Califf, President Joe Biden’s pick to lead the Food and Drug Administration, was originally viewed as a relatively safe selection. But Califf drew opposition from the political right, given actions the agency took to expand access to an abortion pill during his first stint helming the agency, and he took heat from the left for his industry ties. He was ultimately confirmed narrowly in February 2022.

Trump has opened the door to going around the Senate’s advise and consent role by installing his picks when Congress is not in session, called “recess appointments.” Republicans have said they view that as an option only if Democrats obstruct nominations - not if Trump is trying to circumvent Republicans’ power because not enough of them support a nominee.

Spokespeople for Trump did not return requests for comment.

Several of Kennedy’s stances could trip up his nomination, including past comments on abortion. While Kennedy sent mixed signals on abortion during his independent presidential campaign, he said in May he had decided abortion should be unrestricted until the point of fetal viability. That position has made some antiabortion leaders uncomfortable because the HHS secretary oversees agencies responsible for access to the abortion pill mifepristone, funding of reproductive-health initiatives and other measures long criticized or opposed by their groups.

“Of course, we have concerns about Robert F. Kennedy Jr.,” Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, said in a statement. But the prominent antiabortion group did not outright oppose his impending nomination.

Former vice president Mike Pence last week called Kennedy’s nomination “an abrupt departure from the pro-life record of our administration” and urged Senate Republicans to reject him.

Two antiabortion strategists, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to be candid, said groups want to know Kennedy’s position on specific policies, with one saying the organizations will use the nomination process to attempt to extract pledges.

But even some prominent antiabortion senators did not express opposition to Kennedy leading HHS, which is charged with overseeing the federal family planning program and regulating a commonly used abortion pill.

“I have a different perspective” on abortion than Kennedy, Sen. James Lankford (R-Oklahoma) said, adding he will have questions for Kennedy on his plans for abortion policy when the two meet.

Several senators dismissed concerns about Kennedy’s abortion stance and past statements on vaccines.

“Every state now is making its own decisions about” abortion, Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyoming) said. “So under President Trump’s goal of leaving it up to states, I don’t think it matters what [Kennedy] thinks.” She also said she believes his position on vaccines has been “exaggerated,” saying he maintains it’s not his job to stand in the way of people who want vaccines.

Other possible tripwires for Kennedy include his criticisms of the pharmaceutical and agriculture industries, which are consistent supporters of many of the Republican senators who will decide on confirmation.

More than 200 agricultural groups wrote to Senate leaders in October, warning about “significant misunderstandings” that had emerged as Trump and Kennedy campaigned on promises to overhaul the Department of Agriculture, roll back use of pesticides and make other changes to Americans’ food as part of the Kennedy-led “Make America Healthy Again” agenda.

“These tools, including pesticides and genetic innovations, are safe, appropriately regulated, and essential for maintaining American competitiveness and national security,” the groups wrote in a letter shared with The Post.

Hoeven, who represents a state where agriculture helps drive the economy, said he wanted to work with Kennedy to educate him about agriculture.

“We’ve got the best system in the world, by far when it comes to agriculture,” he said, adding that he wanted to help Kennedy “understand the challenges of raising food, fuel and fiber in a practical way.”

Several Democrats said they agreed with Kennedy’s desire to take on the agriculture industry.

“We have a consolidated multinational corporation, [agriculture] industry that has more powerful lobbies down here than anybody, except for maybe the defense industry,” said Sen. Cory Booker (D-New Jersey), adding that he’s itching for a “food fight” with the industry. “It’s broken for farmers. It’s broken for consumers. It’s broken for our country.”