Robert Kennedy Jr. Confirmed to Lead Health and Human Services Department
variety.comGene Maddaus Senior Media Writer Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the president’s controversial choice to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, was confirmed Thursday by a 52-48 vote in the Senate.
A longtime critic of vaccines, Kennedy will oversee the nation’s sprawling health care bureaucracy, which includes the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Medicare and Medicaid.
Mitch McConnell, the former Republican leader, was the sole senator to cross party lines, voting no. Sens. Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski, both moderate Republicans, came out in favor of confirmation prior to the vote.
In a statement Wednesday, Murkowski said that while she had earlier “misgivings” about Kennedy, she was swayed by his commitment to addressing chronic illness as a driver of high health care costs. “This is the appeal of RFK, and many Alaskans have shared that view with me,” she said.
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