San Francisco Frontiers - Vaccine critic RFK Jr. confirmed as US health secretary

Known widely as "RFK Jr.," the 71-year-old nephew of the late president John F. Kennedy secured confirmation in a 52-48 vote largely along party lines, becoming the latest contentious addition to President Donald Trump's cabinet.

Kennedy now heads a department overseeing 80,000 employees and a $1.7 trillion budget as scientists warn of a potential bird flu pandemic and with declining vaccination rates leading to the resurgence of once-vanquished childhood diseases.

Once a celebrated environmental lawyer who sued chemical giant Monsanto and accused climate-change deniers of being traitors, Kennedy has spent much of the past two decades touting conspiracy theories: from linking childhood vaccines to autism and suggesting the Covid virus spared Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese people to casting doubt on whether germs truly cause infectious diseases.

Yet it was his shift toward Republican positions -- particularly on abortion rights, which he once supported but has since signaled a willingness to further restrict -- that won over conservative lawmakers wary of his past.

During heated confirmation hearings, Democrats pointed to what they called glaring conflicts of interest in Kennedy's financial filings, including lucrative consulting fees from law firms suing pharmaceutical companies.

They also highlighted allegations of sexual misconduct and his claims linking school shootings to antidepressants.

Ultimately, only one Republican senator voted against him: former Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, a childhood survivor of polio. Democrats were united in opposition.

"I've watched vaccines save millions of lives from devastating diseases across America and around the world," said the 82-year-old, who is not expected to seek re-election.

"I will not condone the re-litigation of proven cures, and neither will millions of Americans who credit their survival and quality of life to scientific miracles."

- Make America Healthy Again -

Kennedy found steadier footing when promoting his "Make America Healthy Again" (MAHA) agenda -- a play on Trump's signature MAGA slogan -- emphasizing the need to combat the nation's chronic disease crisis by holding the food industry more accountable.

Such ideas have cross-party appeal, though experts question how he will implement them given his troubled relationship with scientific evidence.

Kennedy initially launched an independent presidential bid in 2024, making headlines with a string of bizarre revelations, including a claim that he recovered from a parasitic brain worm and a tale that he once de-capitated a dead whale.

Last year, 77 Nobel Prize winners penned an open letter opposing his nomination, warning that his confirmation could put public health "in jeopardy."

His own family was among his critics. Cousin Caroline Kennedy, a former diplomat, accused him of being a "predator" who led younger relatives down the path of drug addiction.

- 'Disaster waiting to happen' -

"He's a frightening man, a dangerous man, and I think he'll do harm," said Paul Offit, a leading vaccine expert at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. "This is a disaster waiting to happen -- and it will happen."

Democratic Senator Patty Murray accused Republican lawmakers of willful ignorance.

"They are choosing to pretend it's even remotely believable that RFK Jr. won't use his new power to do exactly what he's spent decades trying to do -- undermine vaccines," she said, warning he could dismantle the government's vaccine advisory committee, which determines which shots must be covered by insurance.

The Senate has approved all of Trump's cabinet picks so far, underscoring his firm grip on the Republican Party.

Among them is Tulsi Gabbard, confirmed on Wednesday as the nation's spy chief despite past support for adversarial nations such as Russia and Syria.

Meanwhile, Trump's pick to lead the FBI, Kash Patel, cleared a key committee vote Thursday and now awaits final Senate approval.

A staunch loyalist, Patel has repeatedly promoted election fraud conspiracies and recently published a book naming 60 Trump critics -- dubbed an "enemies list" by Democrats.

N.Flores--SFF