By India Edwards HealthDay Reporter<\/b>
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THURSDAY, Jan. 30, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. faced a plethora of tough questions on vaccines, abortion<\/a> and public health policy during his Senate confirmation hearing Wednesday as President Donald Trump\u2019s pick for secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS).<\/p>\n Lawmakers pressed Kennedy, a longtime vaccine critic and former Democrat-turned-independent, on his qualifications to oversee HHS, a $1.7 trillion agency that would put him in charge of Medicare, Medicaid, funding for medical research, public health outreach and much more.<\/p>\n While he’s expected to win Republican support, his responses left many unconvinced about his ability to run the nation’s largest health agency.<\/p>\n Here are some top takeaways from the hearing, from national and international news agencies:<\/p>\n Vaccine stance sparks a heated debate<\/strong><\/p>\n Kennedy\u2019s long history of vaccine skepticism was a major focus. Sen. Ron Wyden<\/a>, a Democrat of Oregon, set the tone for his party with a deeply critical opening statement.<\/p>\n \u201cMr. Kennedy has embraced conspiracy theories, quacks, charlatans, especially when it comes to the safety and efficacy of vaccines,\u201d Wyden said, as reported by USA Today.<\/em><\/p>\n Kennedy repeatedly claimed he was not anti-vaccine but “pro-safety.”<\/p>\n Unsurprisingly, he was pressed about his past claims that COVID was made to target white and Black people while sparing Chinese people and Ashkenazi Jews and that Lyme disease was \u201chighly likely\u201d to have been a bioweapon.<\/p>\n \u201cI probably did say that,\u201d Kennedy said about Lyme disease, as reported by The New York Times<\/em>. As for the COVID-19 claim, Kennedy stated that he had not said the virus was \u201cdeliberately targeted.\u201d<\/p>\n Kennedy also said he supports the current childhood vaccination schedule and that he is not a conspiracy theorist.<\/p>\n “That’s a pejorative that’s applied to me to keep me from asking difficult questions about powerful interests,” he told senators, as reported by BBC<\/em>.<\/p>\n Medicare and Medicaid<\/strong><\/p>\n Kennedy struggled to explain how he would manage Medicare and Medicaid, two major programs overseen by HHS.<\/p>\n Wyden argued that \u201cfrom abortion to universal health care, Kennedy has changed his views so often it\u2019s nearly impossible to know where he stands,\u201d according to AP News.<\/em><\/p>\n Under questioning by Sen. Bill Cassidy<\/a>, a Louisiana Republican who chairs the Senate Health Committee, Kennedy said he would like to integrate the two programs, The New York Times reported<\/em>. Cassidy asked him how he would do it.<\/p>\n \u201cI do not know the answer to that,\u201d Kennedy said. \u201cI look forward to, uh, exploring options with you.\u201d He also said of Medicaid: \u201cThe premiums are too high, the deductibles are too high, and everybody\u2019s getting sicker.\u201d But except in very rare cases, Medicaid enrollees do not pay either premiums or deductibles.<\/p>\n Abortion stance leaves Democrats skeptical<\/strong><\/p>\n Kennedy\u2019s stance on abortion has shifted in recent years, aligning him more closely with Trump’s.<\/p>\n He sidestepped questions about whether he would support attempts to restrict the abortion pill mifepristone<\/a>, a goal of abortion opponents.<\/p>\n That led to a sharp response from Sen. Maggie Hassan<\/a>, a New Hampshire Democrat. She noted that when Kennedy visited her state as a presidential candidate in 2023, he described himself as \u201cpro-choice.\u201d At that time, he also said the government did not have \u201cany business telling people what they can or cannot do with their body,\u201d Hassan recalled.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen was it that you decided to sell out the values you\u2019ve had your whole life in order to be given power by President Trump?\u201d Hassan asked.<\/p>\n Kennedy sidestepped the question, The New York Times <\/em>reported. \u201cI agree with President Trump that every abortion is a tragedy,” he said, in contrast to his past support for abortion access and reproductive rights.<\/p>\n Food policy and chronic disease prevention<\/strong><\/p>\n On another note, there was some common ground when Kennedy outlined his plan to implement a nutrition-oriented disease prevention plan, CNN <\/em>reported.<\/p>\n He received loud applause when he promised he would “make America healthy again.”<\/p>\n “We will reverse the chronic disease epidemic and put the nation back on the road to health,” Kennedy said, according to the BBC<\/em>.<\/p>\n However, he reassured the public he wasn\u2019t banning fast food.<\/p>\n “If you like a McDonald’s cheeseburger or a Diet Coke – which my boss loves – you should be able to get them,” he said, referring to Trump’s well-known admiration for the fast-food giant.<\/p>\n More information<\/strong><\/p>\n