Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he was confirmed in the new Department of Health and Human Services in the Republican-controlled Senate hours after being confirmed in the Senate by a close vote of 52-48 that was almost entirely along the party line on Thursday. was sworn as HHS).
Kennedy was accompanied by his children, standing in an oval office with his wife, actress Cheryl Hines. Supreme Court Judge Neil Gorsuch swore at Kennedy.
After the ceremony, Kennedy informed attendees that he was the first to visit the oval office.
“The first time I had in this oval office…it was 1962. I was here. I was meeting my uncle, who was president at the time. I talked about the environment. The physical fitness of this country.
McConnell warns RFK JR. To avoid polio vaccines
“For 20 years, I went down on my knees every morning and prayed that God would put me in a position where I could end the epidemic of chronic childhood diseases in this country,” Kennedy said.
“On August 23rd last year, God sent me President Trump. He keeps every promise he made to me. He keeps his words with every explanation, and far exceeds that. …I am very grateful to you, President.
Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) arrives at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, and meets with Ukrainian President Voldy Mil Zelensky about his September 26th war effort with Russia. (AP/J. Scott Applewhite)
Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky was the only Republican to vote against Kennedy's nomination. Former longtime GOP Senator McConnell had polio as a child and is a leading advocate for the vaccine.
Kennedy, a well-known vaccine skeptical and environmental crusader who finished his bid in 2024 and ran for the White House in 2024 before supporting Trump, is a simple majority confirmed by the Senate. I needed it.
Senate Democrats oppose RFK Jr. In a late-night session before the vote
Former Republican presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and former Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump shake hands at a campaign rally in Glendale, Arizona on August 23, 2024 at a campaign rally at a desert diamond arina It shook me. (Rebecca Noble/Getty Images)
“I am a childhood polio survivor. In my lifetime, I have seen vaccines save millions of lives from catastrophic diseases in America and around the world. McConnell voted for Kennedy After that, Americans trusted their survival and quality of life in scientific miracles.
Kennedy, his honest opinion Big drug The food industry also aims to raise controversy, overhauling dietary guidelines, aims to be ultra-highly processed foods, and changing the focus of agencies that oversee the organizations to promote healthy lifestyles, such as reaching the root cause of chronicity. He said that. disease.
Push is part of his “Make America Healthy Again” campaign.
The Senate checks Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Serves Trump's Secretary of Health
(LR) On Thursday, February 13, 2025, President Donald Trump, Secretary of Health and Human Services, actresses Sheryl Hines and President Robert F. Kennedy Jr., at a ceremony at the White House oval office in Washington, DC. . (Jason C. Andrew/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Trump regularly criticized Kennedy during his independent presidential bids, accusing him of being a “radical left liberal” and “a Democrat plant.”
Kennedy in a social media post claimed that Trump's jab against him was “a barely consistent barrage of wild, inaccurate claims.”
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However, Kennedy dropped the president's bid in August and made another big headline when he supported Trump.
Kennedy has long been identified as a Democrat and has repeatedly called out his late father, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, and his late uncle, former President John F. Kennedy. Kennedy has recently developed a relationship with far-right leaders, partly due to his well-known vaccine skepticism.
Paul Steinhauser of Fox News Digital contributed to this report
