Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, is scheduled to appear before the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday for the first of two confirmation hearings.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration, the National Institutes of Health, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services are among the 18 agencies that Kennedy would have broad authority over if approved.
According to Lawrence Gostin, director of Georgetown University’s O Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law, this hearing is the most significant of all of Trump’s Cabinet selections. Tens of thousands of scientists, physicians, and nurses are under the direct supervision of the HHS secretary, who also has significant authority over domestic and international health care.
Kennedy’s controversial views, such as his repeated incorrect claims that vaccines cause autism—a hypothesis that has been refuted by decades of scientific research—are certain to make the hearing contentious.Kennedy stated in a financial statement on Tuesday that he is no longer the chairman or chief legal counsel of Children’s Health Defense, a nonprofit organization he created that advocates against vaccines, as of December. One of the lawsuits the group has brought against the federal government challenges the approval of the Covid vaccine for children.
The report states that Kennedy will continue to receive fees related to ongoing lawsuits over Merck’s HPV-preventive vaccine, Gardasil. Cervical and other cancers are prevented with the HPV vaccine. Merck replied in part, “The plaintiff’s allegations have no merit, and we remain committed to vigorously defending against these claims,” in a statement to NBC News.
Kennedy’s spokeswoman opted not to comment.
The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions will have a hearing on Thursday after the one on Wednesday.
These are five important health-related issues to be aware of during the Kennedy hearings.
Vaccines
As children immunization rates decline, Kennedy is nominated to head HHS.Less than 93% of kindergarteners had received all of their state-required immunizations in the 2023–2024 school year, compared to 95% in the 2019–2020 school year, according to KFF, a nonprofit organization that studies health policy issues.
During a roundtable on vaccines held by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., on Tuesday, Dr. Paul Offit, a vaccine expert at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, stated that parents are more reluctant than ever to vaccinate their children.
According to Offit, parents are now more concerned about the safety of vaccines—real or imagined—than the diseases they prevent because, in addition to the fact that we have essentially eradicated these diseases, we have also eradicated their memory.
Sanders, the Senate HELP Committee’s ranking member, pointed out the risk of undoing decades of advancements in public health at the roundtable. He hasn’t stated in public yet if he would back Kennedy’s nomination.
Experts fear that Kennedy’s lengthy history of anti-vaccine campaigning may result in major adjustments to children vaccination laws.
Kennedy’s role as health secretary would give him authority over the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, an impartial panel of medical professionals that assists the agency in recommending to states and insurance companies which vaccines, including pediatric vaccinations, should be covered.
Senators have said they had discussed vaccines with Kennedy, emphasizing the significance of the subject. Kennedy stated to NBC News shortly after the election that he would not deny anyone their vaccinations.
To be clear, the scientific community is unanimous that vaccines have halted the spread of infectious illnesses like measles, smallpox, and polio, saved millions of lives, and spared immense human misery, Sanders stated.
The Committee to Protect Health Care and other public health advocacy organizations voiced concern at Kennedy’s opinions on the subject. More than 15,000 doctors signed a statement that the committee released online earlier this month pleading with senators to reject his nomination.
Obamacare
Larry Levitt, executive vice president of health policy at KFF, stated that although vaccines will likely receive a lot of attention, RFK Jr.’s potential to influence people’s health insurance coverage in some ways looms far larger.
Along with Medicare and Medicaid, HHS is in charge of the Affordable Care Act’s implementation through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. According to Levitt, when combined, the three programs offer insurance to almost 168 million individuals, or more than half of the US population. The government also funds states to enhance insurance coverage, especially for the uninsured, and does outreach to make sure people have access to information about their insurance alternatives.
Republicans have indicated support for allowing the subsidies that lower Obamacare rates to expire. They have also indicated interest in enacting an unpopular clause requiring work requirements for Medicaid eligibility. Dr. Mehmet Oz, Trump’s choice to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, has previously stated that he is in favor of Medicare being privatized.
Trump promised to replace the Affordable Care Act throughout the campaign, but Kennedy hasn’t revealed much about his opinions on the program or insurance in general.
How does he feel about the job requirements for Medicaid? The Affordable Care Act? Increased financial assistance? Levitt inquired. He is in charge of an organization that influences all of those things.
Bird flu
As the H5N1 avian flu pandemic ravages the nation, Kennedy might assume leadership.
The Agriculture Department estimates that as of January 16, 928 herds of dairy cattle in 16 states were affected.At least 67 cases have been reported in humans, the majority of whom are farmworkers. The infection killed one person, an elderly Louisianan with a backyard flock.
Experts fear that if bird flu were to change so that it spreads easily among people, it might trigger another pandemic. As of yet, there are no known cases of avian flu spreading from person to person in the United States.
According to Gostin of Georgetown University, it is risky to let a vaccination skeptic spearhead the response to this illness, which we must treat extremely seriously.
Kennedy would be in charge of the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, an HHS organization in charge of overseeing the country’s flu vaccine stockpile, which presently consists of two bird flu vaccine candidates, as well as the CDC, which has controlled a large portion of the outbreak and monitored the risk to humans. He would be in charge of the FDA, which would have to approve the vaccines before they could be administered to humans.
Biden administration officials stated in December that they had no intention of authorizing the accumulated bird flu vaccines, leaving it up to Trump administration health authorities—possibly including Kennedy—to determine if they would be required.
I don’t think RFK Jr. will expedite the supply of an avian influenza vaccination where it’s needed, so that worries me a lot, Gostin said.
Food guidelines
Kennedy has vowed to crack down on additives and dyes linked to health issues and has made it a priority to promote cleaner eating.
According to experts, lawmakers from both parties will probably back Kennedy on that issue. (Earlier this month, Red No. 3, an artificial dye found in hundreds of foods but related to cancer in lab animals, was prohibited by the FDA under the Biden administration.)
Kennedy may be questioned about the creation of the 2025 dietary guidelines for Americans, according to Marion Nestle, professor emerita of nutrition, food studies, and public health at New York University, if Republicans in Congress are prepared to put pressure on him on the subject.
As Nestle stated, “You might think that Republicans would be concerned about how his proposed actions would affect the food, fishing, and dairy industries, but they seem willing to go along with whatever Trump wants.”
The dietary recommendations will remain in effect for the next five years and are overseen by HHS in collaboration with the Agriculture Department.
A committee released its proposal this month, suggesting that consumers reduce their intake of processed and red meat and increase their intake of beans, peas, and lentils as protein sources.
Kennedy has the authority to accept some or all of the suggestions.
Additionally, Gostin expressed his expectation that Congress will demand that Kennedy take action against the food business.
According to Gostin, he speaks a nice game about nutrition, but what are his specific plans?
Weight loss drugs
Access to the pills would be significantly increased when the Biden administration proposed a rule in November requiring Medicare and Medicaid to provide coverage of the weight-loss meds. Only diabetes, heart disease risk, and sleep apnea are now covered. Drugs for weight loss are not covered by the programs due to a two-decade-old restriction.
But according to Stacie Dusetzina, a professor of health policy at Nashville, Tennessee’s Vanderbilt University, the rule must be finalized during the Trump administration.
I do think that s an important and consequential policy action that would affect many people and spending on Medicare and Medicaid in a very substantial way, she said.
The significant government spending on Ozempic and Wegovy earned them a spot in this year s Medicare drug pricing negotiations another matter on which Kennedy has remained silent.
Kennedy has been critical of the extremely popular weight loss drugs such as Ozempic and Wegovy, tellingFox News Greg Gutfeldin October that companies are counting on selling it to Americans because we re so stupid and so addicted to drugs.
He seemingly walked those statements back later: Speaking to CNBC in December, Kennedy said the first line of response should be lifestyle, it should be eating well, making sure that you don t get obese, and that those GLP drugs have a place.
My casual impression is that he s more of a diet and exercise and clean up food supply type of guy, Dusetzina said. That s going to be one I try to keep an eye out for.