Senate Finance Committee advances Robert F. Kennedy Jr. nomination to be health secretary

Senate committee advances Robert F. Kennedy Jr. nomination to be health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has cleared his first hurdle to become the nation’s top health official as the Senate finance committee voted to advance his nomination for a floor vote. AP News

His nomination now will face a full Senate vote, despite concerns about the work he’s done to sow doubts around vaccine safety and his potential to profit off lawsuits over drugmakers.

To gain control of the $1.7 trillion Health and Human Services agency, Kennedy will need support from all but three Republicans if Democrats uniformly oppose him.

Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, who is also a physician and sits on the finance committee, voted to advance Kennedy’s confirmation. Last week, during Kennedy’s hearings, Cassidy repeatedly implored Kennedy to reject a disproven theory that vaccines cause autism, to no avail. He ended the hearing by saying he was “struggling” with the vote.

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