7 highlights from Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s HHS senate confirmation hearings

Kennedy says he's 'pro-vax,' anti-vax onesies, what really happened in Samoa, and Elizabeth Warren thinks people will die...

Watching Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s senate confirmation hearings for the position of head of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) was such a let down.

It’s not like I’m surprised at the disgraceful behaviour of many of the senators, but it’s still always depressing to come face to face with the fact that there are raving loons and deeply dishonest brokers within the highest ranks of political leadership.

I watched the full three and a half hours of the first hearing and segments of the second one. I’ll preface by saying I am not across the minutiae of American politics, and so these are the broad brush observations of an outsider.

The premise of Kennedy’s nomination is that he is a man of the left who is partnering with the right to address the unifying problem of chronic disease. He’s going to Make America Healthy Again (MAHA).

America spends the most on healthcare and yet has the worst outcomes. Kennedy proposes to fix this by fixing the food supply, getting rid of the conflicts of interest, and making sure that HHS runs on gold-standard evidence-based science.

What I witnessed at his senate confirmation hearing was a partisan show of primarily Democrat senators acting like children with behavioural problems.

There was yelling, interrupting Kennedy and not allowing him to answer questions (which was the purported purpose of the hearing), throwing around wild, patently false accusations, and hyperventilating over vaccines and abortion.

It was physically aggravating to hear senators spewing lies that have been debunked over and over, even by Kennedy during the hearing, and insist on stripping his quotes of context and nuance in a binary show of political point scoring at the expense of factual accuracy and truthfulness.

Democrats in both hearings repeatedly barked ‘Yes or no! Yes or no!’ at Kennedy when he attempted to respond to their accusatory questions and demands for allegiance to various ideological or policy positions, then accused him of lying on the occasions when he said what they wanted to hear.¹

Stunning, considering that Kennedy has for his whole life been politically aligned with the Democrat Party. He was a darling of the left for his environmental work until he questioned sacred vaccines. They eat their own.

The Republicans were comparatively well-behaved. In the hearing I watched in full (with the Finance Committee), I heard senators from farm states politely asking questions about their constituents’ main concerns and seeking assurances from Kennedy to work constructively towards agreed goals.

Some Republicans took issue with Kennedy’s pro-choice stance on abortion - on this he was in a lose-lose position. He is too pro-choice for the pro-lifers, and, working with Trump, he is not pro-choice enough for the radicals.

The whole sideshow underlined what the recent US Presidential election result already indicated - that the Democrats have sadly become the party of Big Cartels (e.g.: Big Pharma, Big Food, Big Ag) and have succumbed to such excessively myopic and partisan motivations that they’re unable to conduct themselves as effective representatives of the American people, or even of their own base.

My top seven highlights/lowlights from the hearings…

1. Kennedy says he is pro-vaccine

Across the hearings, Kennedy stated over and over, “I’m pro-vaccine,” “I support vaccines,” and “I support the childhood schedule.” He said, “I recommend that children follow the CDC schedule and I will support the childhood schedule when I get in [to the position of HHS Secretary].”

Video (21 sec) via @Dystopian_DU on X

And he said, “I support the measles vaccine, I support the polio vaccine, I will do nothing as HHS Secretary that makes it difficult or discourages people from taking it."

Video (11 sec) via @Dystopian_DU on X

Kennedy has copped a lot of criticism for walking back his focus on vaccine safety and directing the MAHA movement towards addressing chronic disease through fixing the food supply (but not the vaccine schedule).

Obviously, there’s a snowflake’s chance in hell of Kennedy getting confirmed to lead HHS if he’s openly skeptical of vaccines. However, I did raise my eyebrows hearing him outright say he would recommend the CDC childhood schedule.

There’s absolutely no way I believe that Kennedy is pro- the CDC childhood schedule in its current form, because I know that he knows that only two of the vaccines on that schedule have been tested against an inert placebo.

Having read and listened to Kennedy explain his position on vaccines over the years, I believe his stance is that he’s vaccine-neutral and pro-safety. I mean this in the sense that if there were a vaccine that were proven really and truly safe and effective, he would support that.

In his opening statement on day one of the hearings, he said,

“News reports have claimed I am anti-vaccine or anti-industry. I am neither. I am pro-safety. I am pro-safety. I worked for years to raise awareness about mercury and toxic chemicals in fish, and nobody called me "anti-fish."

“I believe that vaccines play a critical role in health care. All of my kids are vaccinated. I have written many books on vaccines. My first book in 2014 -- the first line of it is, “I am not anti-vaccine,” and the last line is, “I am not anti-vaccine.””

I think Kennedy’s problem is not with vaccines as a category, but with the lack of proper safety, the corruption within the industry, and the lack of safety nets for people who are injured.

When he said he’s pro- the childhood schedule, I’m guessing he means he’s pro- the schedule in principle, provided it is safe and effective (which the science currently does not show, because the appropriate trials have not been conducted).

It bothers me that Kennedy would say something that I don’t think he honestly believes, or would shade his meaning in a less than direct way. At the same time, I acknowledge that this is politics, and he may intend to come at this through the side door over a longer time frame than some activists would like.

For example, he could order a comprehensive audit of the science supporting the CDC childhood vaccine schedule, which would presumably find that the available studies do not meet the gold standard (more on that at point #6).

The greatest fear of the pro-pharma, vaccine-as-religion Democrats (and sold out Republicans) is that Kennedy will do exactly this. The greatest fear of medical freedom activists is that he won’t.

2. “ARE YOU SUPPORTIVE OF THESE ONESIES??”

Sen Bernie Sanders (D-VT) served up one of the most viral moments of the hearings by yelling angrily at RFKJ over anti-vax onesies for babies.

“Are you supportive of these onesies??”

Video (1 min 30 sec) via @kihn_2a on X

The onesies, sold by Childrens Health Defense (CHD), say ‘Unvaxxed Unafraid’ and ‘No Vax No Problem.’ Kennedy founded CHD, but stepped down as Chairman at the beginning of his Presidential campaign and formally resigned in December 2024. Sen Sanders was very perturbed that Kennedy would not commit to having CHD remove the onesies from their online shop, despite Kennedy no longer being associated with the organisation.

CHD made the most of the opportunity, first selling out, then restocking with code BERNIE for a 10% discount.

Childrens Health Defense on X

3. Bernie Sanders, what happened to you man?

In another viral moment, Kennedy called out Sen Sanders for being the “single largest receiver of pharmaceutical dollars, $1.5 million” in 2020.

Video (1 min) via @TheChiefNerd on X

“The problem of corruption is not just in the federal agencies it’s in the congress too. Almost all the members of this panel, including yourself, are accepting millions of dollars from the pharmaceutical industry, and protecting their interests,” said Kennedy.

(This is true on both sides of the aisle)

capMoney from Pharmaceuticals / Health Products to US Senators, 1990-2024, via OpenSecrets.

It suddenly dawned on me that, at this stage of his career, Bernie Sanders is essentially cosplaying someone who fights the system in his role upholding the system.

I used to stan for Bernie, in that ignorant way that people do when they see a few reels of someone going hard on rich people. In 2016, when I knew nothing about American politics except orange man bad, I hoped he would win.

But the Bernie I saw in these hearings reminded me of the protagonist Bing in the Black Mirror episode ‘15 Million Merits,’ in which Bing ambushes a talent show to rage against the system, only to be co-opted into performing his scathing rants on nightly TV segments for the entertainment of the docile masses.

How disappointing to see Bernie playing the clown in some of the most laughable moments of the hearings while attacking someone from his own team who ostensibly shares most of the same goals.

4. Why are Democrats SO obsessed with vaccines (and pills)?

Kennedy gave some salient facts during his opening statement on day one:

• Over 70% of adults and a third of children are overweight or obese.

• Diabetes is ten times more prevalent than it was during the 1960s.

• Cancer among young people is rising by 1 or 2% a year.

• Autoimmune diseases, neurodevelopmental disorders, Alzheimer’s, asthma, ADHD, depression, addiction, and a host of other physical and mental health conditions are all on the rise -- some of them exponentially.

• The CDC says that 90% of health care spending goes toward managing chronic disease, which hits lower-income Americans the hardest.

• The United States has worse health outcomes than any other developed nation, yet spends more on healthcare -- in some cases triple -- than other countries.

• Last year the US spent $4.8 trillion on healthcare, not counting the indirect cost of missed work. That's almost a fifth of GDP, and is tantamount to a 20% tax on the entire economy.

Kennedy’s entire premise was that Americans are chronically ill, and that leadership should do something about that, mainly by identifying and addressing root causes.

Yet, it seemed all the Democrats wanted to talk about was vaccines, and also pills.

Senator after senator harangued Kennedy for his past statements on vaccines, which is fair to a point in so far as it highlights any differences in ideological opinion - but the overwhelming focus on vaccines and the comparative lack of discussion about the problems most devastatingly affecting Americans’ health was striking.

Here is Sen Chris Murphy (D-CT) spending his entire question time misquoting and willfully misinterpreting some of Kennedy’s prior statements on vaccines despite clarifications offered by Kennedy both in this hearing and the one the day prior.

Video (6 min) via @newstart_2024 on X

Here is Sen Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) demanding that Kennedy must give a “clear and trustworthy recantation” about his past vaccine-skeptical statements, and that he must make it “indisputably clear that you support mandatory vaccines against diseases where that will keep people safe.”

Video (32 sec) via @TalkMullins on X

Here is Sen Tina Smith (D-MN) castigating Kennedy for saying that the harmful effects of a class of anti-depressants called SSRIs should be further studied, and that that people wishing to withdraw from them should be offered support. (I shared my own difficulties with coming off anti-depressants here).

Video (3 min 49 sec) via @AustismCapital

Smith shared that she was prescribed SSRIs for her depression in the past, and said, “I think that everyone should have access to that care, and your job as secretary is to expand access to care,” implying that Kennedy’s job should be to guarantee pills to all Americans.

I could go on. Watch any half-hour segment of the hearings and you’ll hear ‘vaccine, vaccine, pills, vaccine’ on loop when the Dems are on the mic.

For context, the CDC lists heart disease and cancer as overwhelmingly the leading causes of death in America. Worldwide, these two diseases account for half of all deaths. Cochrane Collaboration co-founder Peter Gøtzsche estimated in 2016 that prescription drugs may be the third leading cause of death.

Not including gain-of-function man-made disasters, the mortality attributed to infectious diseases, which so preoccupy Democrats, is 14% worldwide, and much, much lower in the US, where good sanitation and primary healthcare services are de rigeur.

Even before vaccines, the CDC states that 400-500 Americans per year died of measles. Compare this to the 702,000 American deaths per year from heart disease. And, infectious disease outcomes are substantially worsened by chronic disease co-morbidities.

But Dems spent the whole time fretting that Kennedy might take away their pills and shots.

5. Elizabeth Warren may never retire her ‘people will die’ tactic

I don’t know a great deal about Sen Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), but I know she has a penchant for declaring that people will die unless everyone does what she wants them to do.

Warren declared multiple times that ‘people might die’ if Kennedy is confirmed.

She also got very upset that Kennedy would not commit to not litigating against pharmaceutical companies after his stint at HHS, despite him committing to not taking any funds through revolving door channels like lobbying or board membership.

That said, I’m unsure as to why Kennedy wouldn’t commit to not making money off suing pharma companies, as it would have been an easy way to diffuse the situation.

Video 2 mins 44 sec via @VigilantFox on X

For the record, Sen Warren falsely accused Kennedy of taking $2.5 million for litigation against pharma - the relevant law firm issued a statement confirming that the monies paid to Kennedy were for work related to Monsanto and wildfire litigation. Ironic, given Sen Warren’s own substantial pharmaceutical funding of over $1.2 million, putting her in the top 20 senate recipients of pharma contributions.

6. Bring back gold standard science and intellectual humility

There was a lot of blustering during the hearings about following the science, the science being settled, questioning science being tantamount to killing people, and so on.

On one of the rare occasions that Kennedy was asked a question and actually allowed to answer it in full, he explained how ‘the science’ has been corrupted and no longer meets the gold standard:

Video (1 min 10 sec), via @newstart_2024 on X

"The gold standard means real scientific research with replication of studies, which very rarely happens now at NIH. We should be giving at least 20 percent of the NIH budgets to replication. We should have to make sure that all the science is published with the raw data. We should make sure that the peer reviews are also published.

“I'll give you a quick example. 20 years ago, NIH scientists did a study on amyloid, on Alzheimer's, which they said it was caused by amyloid plaque. After that, NIH shut down studies of any other hypothesis. 20 years later, we now know that those studies were fraudulent.

"NIH has funded 800 studies on a fraudulent hypothesis. And we've lost 20 years in figuring out how to cure for Alzheimer's. And that's just one example I could give you hundreds. We need to end that. We need to end the old boy system. We need to have replicable science and be completely transparent about our raw data."

Sen Rand Paul (R-KY) made some excellent follow-up points, highlighting for example the nuances in the discussion around Covid vaccines and disease risk, which was exponentially greater for the old and infirm than the young and healthy. Yet, Covid vaccines are on the CDC childhood vaccine schedule for six months and older in the US, and anyone who questions this is called anti-science or anti-vax.

“I think the discussion about vaccines is so oversimplified and dumbed down that we never really get to the truth,” said Sen Paul.

“These are the nuances you’re unwilling to talk about because there’s such a belief in submission. Submit to the government! Do what you’re told!”

Video (5 min 16 sec) via @SenRandPaul on X

Sen Paul called for humility and open mindedness on issues where we don’t have all the answers, such as autism.

“Give the guy a break who says ‘I just want to follow the science where it leads without presupposition,’ he said.

“I think what we really have up here is presupposition, you’ve already concluded. ‘Its absolute that autism isn’t caused by…’ We don’t know what causes autism, so we should be more humble.”

Walter Kirn said, and it’s bang on, that at this point, the Dems are “basically idea cops who just go down checklists of banned attitudes and positions and force loyalty statements.”

Case in point, Sen Tim Kaine (D-VA) spent his question time grilling Kennedy over whether he would “take sides” by denouncing people who have questions about the 9/11 official story.

7. The Dems won’t give up the Samoa canard.

Like the ‘fine people’ hoax, the measles outbreak in Samoa is a zombie that the Dems just cannot let go, no matter how badly it undermines their credibility.

This cornerstone of the anti-Kennedy campaign was proffered repeatedly by Dem senators, including in the opening and closing remarks of ranking member Sen Ron Wyden (D-OR), who claimed that Kennedy’s “lies contributed to the deaths of 83 people, mostly children, in Samoa.”

Video (2 min 25 sec) via @kylenabecker on X

If you haven’t heard, once Kennedy’s Presidential campaign kicked into gear, hit pieces began circulating accusing him of being responsible for a deadly measles outbreak in Samoa in 2019.

Vaccination rates in Samoa had dropped significantly after the unfortunate deaths of two children following the maladministration of the MMR vaccine in 2018, after which the Samoan government suspended the MMR vaccine program for 10 months.

Critics allege that because Kennedy visited Samoa several months before a measles outbreak was declared in October 2019, he and his ‘anti-vax misinformation’ are responsible for the outbreak. Readers familiar with Andrew Wakefield’s story will recognise the name of the author of one of the most widely circulated smear pieces, Brian Deer.

The smearing of Kennedy in relation to the Samoan measles outbreak has only increased since his HHS nomination was announced. The logic being that if Kennedy is put in charge of HHS, America will be engulfed by measles and waves of deaths not long after.

An empirical analysis (Haslam and Prasad, 2025) of news and scholarly articles on the outbreak found that prior to 2024, under-vaccination, misinformation, and declining public trust were the most commonly named causes. In peer-reviewed studies, Kennedy barely featured.

Significantly, the authors found that,

“Robert F Kennedy was seldom held responsible for the Samoa measles outbreak between 2019 and 2023 (18.5%), but often held responsible between 2024-present (100%). This pattern of attribution raises the question of whether Mr. Kennedy was actually thought responsible contemporaneously or rather whether he is being scapegoated on the eve of his confirmation.”

Image: Haslam and Prasad, 2025

Read more about causes of the Samoan measles outbreak via

Sensible Medicine

here.

Dr Ah Kahn Syed

offers a more in-depth narrative review here, exploring anomalies such as the outbreak starting in Fiji and Tonga first, both of which had very high vaccination rates, as well as discussion of the under (even un) reported fact that by the end of 2019, the Samoan Government was actually reporting that it had managed to increase measles vaccination rates to 90%.

One needn’t dig too deep to figure out that the narrative holding Kennedy responsible for the Samoan tragedy doesn’t add up. Admittedly though, a Google search or a scan of major news pages won’t turn up any of the anomalous details. Both legacy media and Google algorithms are complicit in keeping this zombie lie alive, while the Dems continue wheeling it out at every opportunity to scare the crap out of people.

The vote for Kennedy’s nomination as Secretary of HHS is to be held next week.

Watch the Kennedy senate hearings

Day One:

Day Two:

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1. A notable exception was Senator Maria Cantwell (Democrat, Washington), who remained composed, asked sensible questions, and allowed Kennedy to answer.