Kennedy hits Capitol Hill to win support for Trump administration confirmation
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President-elect Donald Trump's choice to leading the Health and Human Services Department, said Monday he's "all for the polio vaccine" in a brief interview with ABC News, though he did not respond to questions on issues like school vaccine mandates.
Kennedy was on Capitol Hill to meet with Republican Sens. Rick Scott of Florida, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma, and Tim Scott of South Carolina. He will have meetings with more Republican senators during the week.
Heading into his final meeting of the day with Tim Scott, Kennedy said his meetings have been "very productive."
Rick Scott said he and Kennedy had discussed "transparency" around vaccines.
"So, what he wants with vaccines is, which is what I believe in, is transparency," Rick Scott told reporters outside his office. "I think we, we need to know exactly, with all vaccines, what has been the, the research and, you know, do they work? What's your risk?"
Kennedy, a former Democrat who allied with Trump during the 2024 election, has faced questions over several of his health-related beliefs.
He has in the past promoted the debunked theory linking vaccines to autism, and a lawyer helping Kennedy hire staffers for the incoming administration has pushed for the revocation of the federal approval for the polio vaccine. His support of abortion rights could threaten support from Republicans, and his opposition to things like hog farm subsidies for seed oils, among other things, could irk senators from agriculture-heavy states.
To be sure, Trump's policies are anticipated to rule the day within his own administration for the next four years, but Kennedy's tour on Capitol Hill could look to allay some concerns voiced by Republicans, including outgoing Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell.
"Efforts to undermine public confidence in proven cures are not just uninformed -- they're dangerous," McConnell, a polio survivor, said in a statement Friday. "Anyone seeking the Senate's consent to serve in the incoming Administration would do well to steer clear of even the appearance of association with such efforts."
Currently, all 50 states and Washington, D.C., have laws requiring vaccines to attend schools, although many offer exemptions.
Trump, during a press conference Monday, dismissed worries that Kennedy would do away with the polio vaccine but said he's "not a big mandate person" and that Kennedy would investigate the impact of immunizations.
"I want him to come back with a report as to what he thinks. We're going to find out a lot," he said.
Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri said he is looking forward to a “hopefully good discussion, with Kennedy later this week but disagrees with the his views on agriculture.
Asked about Kennedy's views on GMOs and seed oils, Hawley, who represents a farm state, said, “Those are interesting ideas. I don't agree with most of them.”
“I think he's, you know, he's against much of the Farm Bill, which I think is deeply misguided, but he will not have any policy control over that, I don't think," Hawley said. "If he were nominated for the [Department of Agriculture], I’d talk about that quite a lot, so. But we'll see -- I mean, I'll probably raise that with him, but I imagine our conversation will focus on HHS-related issues.”
