Sanders, the senior minority party member on the committee, pressed Kennedy to concede that health care was a human right, as his father, Robert F. Kennedy, and his uncles, John F. Kennedy and Edward Kennedy, had done. Kennedy again did not give a definitive answer.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. goes before two two U.S. Senate hearings in his quest to head the nation's health department. Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy, a doctor, sits on both.

Sen. Bill Cassidy, the top Republican on the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, concluded Thursday's hearing by saying he was "struggling" with the nomination due to Kennedy's vaccine positions. Kennedy notably refused to say vaccines don't cause autism as he faced pointed question from lawmakers.

The GOP senator and former physician expressed misgivings about whether Trump’s controversial HHS pick could be trusted with the public’s health.

While Democrats blasted Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for previous comments on vaccines and some Republicans teed him up for stump speeches, Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana mostly stuck

Here's when and where Robert F. Kennedy will get his first hearing as President Trump's nominee for secretary of Health and Human Services.

Senator Bill Cassidy, a physician and key G.O.P. vote, joined Democrats in aggressively questioning Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Trump’s pick for health secretary. He did not say how he would vote.

If approved, Kennedy will control a $1.7 trillion agency that oversees food and hospital inspections, hundreds of health clinics, vaccine recommendations and health insurance for roughly half the country.

Senator Bill Cassidy is considered a key vote in determining whether Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will be confirmed as the top health official under the Donald Trump administration.

The hearings were packed to capacity with protesters and fans, while the spillover crowd hung out in hallways and overflow rooms.

The Senate Finance Committee held a hearing for Kennedy on January 29, 2025, and the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee will hold a hearing for Kennedy on January 30, 2025. Kennedy went on to found the Pace University Environmental ...