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(WASHINGTON) — The Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday voted to advance Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s controversial nomination to lead the Department of Health and Human Services under President Donald Trump.
The panel voted along party lines 14-13.
It was a high-stakes vote for Kennedy, as with the committee’s makeup it would have taken just one Republican to oppose him for his nomination to be potentially sunk.
All eyes were on Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Louisiana Republican and longtime physician who, during last week’s hearings, expressed deep concerns about the impact of Kennedy’s past comments casting doubt on vaccines, including saying on a 2023 podcast that “no vaccine is safe and effective.
Cassidy told Kennedy he was “struggling” with his nomination as those proceedings came to a close. The two spoke more over the weekend, according to one person familiar with the discussion, though it’s unclear what was said. Cassidy avoided reporter questions ahead of the vote on that conversation and on whether he’d support Kennedy.
Cassidy voted on Tuesday to approve Kennedy’s nomination.
Trump said on Monday he’s called senators who have concerns about Kennedy. Vice President JD Vance has also been quietly lobbying senators to line up behind Kennedy, ABC News previously reported.
Questions have continued to swirl around Kennedy’s views on vaccines. He said several times during the hearings last Wednesday and Thursday that he supports vaccines and is not “anti-vaccine” but “pro-safety.”
However, Kennedy has openly questioned the widespread administration of both measles and polio vaccines, and has falsely linked the former vaccine to autism, despite several high-quality studies finding no such link.
He also pointed to a flawed paper to suggest there is evidence to claim that vaccines cause autism. Cassidy, the top Republican on the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, said he saw problems with the paper’s methodology upon first look.
Kennedy also cast doubt on the lifesaving benefits of the COVID-19 vaccines, saying he doesn’t think that “anybody” can say the vaccines saved millions of lives.
A 2022 study from the Yale School of Public Health and University of Maryland Medical School estimated the vaccine saved 3 million lives and prevented 18 million hospitalizations.
Senators were also befuddled by comments Kennedy made in the past. Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado read aloud alleged past comments made by Kennedy, including unfounded claims about transgender children.
Kennedy denied making such comments despite repeated an unfounded conspiracy theory during an episode of his podcast in 2022, suggesting endocrine disruptors, including phthalates — which make chemicals more durable — and pesticides, can influence sexual orientation or gender identity.
ABC News’ Anne Flaherty and Will McDuffie contributed to this report.
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