Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is expected to appear before the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday for the first of two confirmation hearings as President Donald Trump candidate for secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.
If confirmed, Kennedy would have sweeping control over a suite of 18 agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration, the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
“This is the most important hearing of all of Trump’s cabinet picks,” said Lawrence Gostin, director of the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown University. . “The HHS Secretary has enormous power over domestic health care, global health, and directly supervises tens of thousands of scientists, doctors, and nurses.”
The hearing is expected to be contentious due to Kennedy’s controversial views, including his repetition false claims linking vaccines to autism – A theory debunked by decades of scientific research.
In a financial disclosure dated TuesdayKennedy said that as of December, he no longer serves as president or legal counsel for Children’s Health Defense, an anti-vaccine nonprofit he founded. The group has filed lawsuits against the federal government, including a challenge to the authorization of the covid vaccine for children.
Kennedy will continue to collect fees ongoing dispute over GardasilA vaccine against Merck which protects against HPVaccording to the disclosure. The HPV vaccine prevents cervical And Other cancers. In a statement to NBC News, Merck said in part: “Plaintiff’s allegations have no merit, and we remain committed to vigorously defending against these claims.”
A Kennedy spokesperson declined to comment.
Wednesday’s hearing will be followed Thursday with a hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.
Here are 5 key health topics to watch during the Kennedy hearings.
Vaccines
Kennedy’s nomination to lead HHS comes as childhood vaccination rates decline. According to KFFa nonprofit group that researches health policy issues, fewer than 93% of kindergartners had received all of their state-required vaccines during the 2023-2024 school year, compared to 95% during of the 2019-2020 school year.
Parents are more hesitant than ever to vaccinate their children, Dr. Paul Offit, a vaccine expert at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, said Tuesday during a vaccine roundtable hosted by Sen. Bernie Sanders. I-VT.
“The problem is not just that we have largely eliminated these diseases, we have eliminated the memory of these diseases,” Offit said, “and for that reason, parents are now more afraid of the safety of vaccines, real or imaginary, than the diseases they prevent.
At the roundtable, Sanders, ranking member of the Senate Aid Committee, noted the “danger” of reversing decades of progress on public health. He has not yet publicly stated whether he would support Kennedy’s nomination.
Kennedy’s long history of anti-vaccine activismexperts worry, could mean significant changes in childhood vaccination policies.
As Secretary of Health, Kennedy would influence the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, An independent group of health experts that helps the agency make recommendations for states and insurers on which vaccines to cover, including childhood immunizations.
Senators declared that they have speak with Kennedy on vaccines, highlight the importance of the subject. Shortly after the election, Kennedy told NBC News that he would not “Take away anyone’s vaccines.”
“Let’s be clear, there is overwhelming consensus in the scientific community that vaccines have saved millions of lives, prevented massive human suffering and stopped the spread of infectious diseases like polio, smallpox and measles,” Sanders said .
Public health advocacy groups, including the Committee to Protect Health Care, have expressed alarm over Kennedy’s views on the subject. Earlier this month, the committee Published a letter onlinesigned by more than 15,000 doctors, urging senators to vote against his confirmation.
Obamacare
“While vaccines will likely get much of the attention, RFK Jr.’s ability to affect people’s health insurance coverage in some ways looms much larger,” said Larry Levitt, executive vice president of KFF health policy.
In addition to Medicare and Medicaid, HHS, through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, oversees implementation of the Affordable Care Act. Together, the three programs provide insurance to about 168 million people — more than half the U.S. population, Levitt said. The department also does outreach, ensuring people have access to information about their insurance options and provides funding to states to improve their insurance coverage, especially for the uninsured.
Republicans have signaled support for letting subsidies that make Obamacare premiums more affordable expire, and they have also expressed interest in imposing work requirements for Medicaid eligibility — a Unpopular provision. Trump’s nominee to run the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Dr. Mehmet Oz, previously Expressed support for privatizing health insurance.
Asset vowed during the campaign to replace the ACAbut Kennedy offered little insight into his views on the program or insurance in general.
“What does he think about Medicaid work requirements? The Affordable Care Act? Improved financial aid? Levitt asked. “He oversees an agency that affects all of these things.”
Bird flu
Kennedy could take the reins as the H5N1 bird flu virus tears the country apart.
As of January 16, approximately 928 dairy cattle herds in 16 states have been infected, According to the Department of Agriculture. There was at least 67 cases in peoplemost of whom are agricultural workers. One person, an older adult in Louisiana who had a backyard flock, died from the virus.
Experts fear that bird flu has the potential to spark another pandemic if it were to mutate to spread easily among people. So far, no documented cases of human transmission of bird flu in the United States.
“This is a disease that we need to take very seriously and allowing the vaccine skeptic to lead the response is dangerous,” said Gostin of Georgetown University.
Kennedy would oversee the CDC, which managed much of the outbreak and was tracking the risk to humans, as well as the Administration of Strategic Preparedness and Response, an HHS agency responsible for managing the vaccine stockpile against the country’s flu, which currently includes two bird flu vaccine candidates. He would have authority over the FDA, which would have to authorize vaccines before they can be used in people.
In December, Biden administration officials said they had no plans to Allow stored bird flu vaccinesleaving health officials in the Trump administration, perhaps including Kennedy, to decide whether they will be needed.
“That worries me a lot,” Gostin said, “because I don’t think RFK Jr. is going to expedite getting an avian flu vaccine to where it’s needed.”
Dietary Guidelines
Kennedy made it a priority to advocate for safer foods, promising to crack down on additives and dyes that have been linked to health problems.
That’s something lawmakers on both sides of the aisle will likely support Kennedy on, experts say. (Earlier this month, the FDA, under the Biden administration, Red Ban No. 3an artificial coloring used in thousands of foods but has been linked to cancer in laboratory rats.)
Marion Nestlé, professor emeritus of nutrition, food studies and public health at New York University, said Kennedy could be asked about the development of 2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans – If Republicans in Congress are willing to squeeze it.
“You might think that Republicans would be concerned about the effects of his proposed actions on the food, fishing and dairy industries, but they seem willing to go with what Trump wants,” Nestle said.
The dietary guidelines, which HHS is responsible for overseeing by the Agriculture Department, will be in place for the next five years.
Last month, a The committee published its proposalrecommending that people eat more beans, peas and lentils as sources of protein and reduce consumption of processed and red meat.
Kennedy can decide whether or not to adopt some or all of the recommendations.
Gostin also said he hopes lawmakers will put pressure on what Kennedy is going to do to take on the food industry.
“He talks a good game in terms of nutrition,” Gostin said, “but what exactly are his plans?”
Weight loss medications
In November, the Biden administration proposed a rule Requiring Medicare and Medicaid to provide coverage for weight loss medications – a move that would significantly expand access to medications. Currently, they are only covered for diabetes, heart disease risk and sleep apnea. A two-decade rule prevents programs from covering weight-loss medications.
However, Stacie Dusetzina, a health policy professor at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, noted that the rule will need to be finalized under the Trump administration.
“I think this is an important and consequential policy action that would affect many people and Medicare and Medicaid spending in a very substantial way,” she said.
Significant government spending for Ozempic and Wegovy earned them a spot in this year’s Medicare drug price negotiations – another issue on which Kennedy remained silent.
Kennedy criticized hugely popular weight loss drugs such as Ozempic and Wegovy, revealing Greg Gutfeld of Fox News By October, companies were “relying on selling to Americans because we are so stupid and so addicted to drugs.”
He apparently brought back those statements later: Speaking to CNBC in December, Kennedy said, “The first line of response should be lifestyle, it should be eating right, making sure you don’t get obese and that these GLP drugs have a place. ”
“My casual impression is that it’s more of a diet and exercise and cleansing type of food supply type,” Dusetzina said. “That’ll be the one I try to keep an eye on.”