Kennedy touts environmental chops at Senate hearing

By Ariel Wittenberg, Ellie Borst | 01/29/2025 01:44 PM EST

Under fire for spreading misinformation about vaccine safety, Health and Human Services nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. spoke about his experience fighting water pollution.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. arrives for his confirmation hearing.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Donald Trump's nominee for secretary of Health and Human Services, arrives for his confirmation hearing before the Senate Finance Committee on Thursday. Francis Chung/POLITICO

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. used his experience as an environmental attorney in an attempt to boost his credibility during a Senate Finance Committee hearing to confirm him as the nation’s top health official.

“I am not anti-vaccine. I am pro-safety,” Kennedy said in his opening statement, over protesters who interrupted shouting, “You lie!”

“I worked for years to reduce mercury and toxic chemicals in fish, and nobody called me anti-fish,” he said.

Advertisement

Kennedy, who spent the previous Trump administration opposing regulatory rollbacks from EPA, is famous for falsely linking immunizations to autism and cancer.

GET FULL ACCESS