‘Frankly, you frighten people’: RFK Jr grilled on vaccine, abortion U-turns

Washington: Robert F. Kennedy Jr, the turncoat scion of the legendary Democratic family chosen by Donald Trump to become health secretary, insisted he supported vaccines and said every abortion was a tragedy as he was grilled on his ever-changing views at an intense Senate confirmation hearing.

The 71-year-old faced a barrage of questions from Democrats about his promotion of conspiracy theories on vaccines, COVID and Lyme disease, his oscillation on abortion and his involvement in a lawsuit against the developer of an HPV vaccine, from which he profits.

Kennedy faced a barrage of questions about his views on vaccines and abortions, among other issues.Credit: Bloomberg

But it was Kennedy’s former roommate and friend Sheldon Whitehouse, a Democrat from Rhode Island whom some speculated might break with his colleagues to support Kennedy’s nomination, who delivered one of the harshest remarks to the prospective cabinet member.

“If you want to move from advocacy to public responsibility, Americans are going to need to hear a clear and trustworthy recantation of what you have said on vaccinations,” Whitehouse said. “You’re in that hole pretty deep. We’ve just had a measles case in Rhode Island, the first since 2013 – and frankly, you frighten people.”

Senators steered clear of asking about a letter submitted to the committee a day earlier by Kennedy’s cousin Caroline, the former US ambassador to Australia, which excoriated his ethics, character and fitness to serve.

Rather, they focused on Kennedy’s shape-shifting positions on major issues, accusing him of pretending to endorse vaccines and masking his support for abortion to gain a position in the new Trump administration.

Vermont senator Bernie Sanders questioned Robert F. Kennedy Jr on his various statements about abortion access.Credit: AP

He struggled to account for himself at times, dodging questions and deferring to Trump’s remarks, particularly on abortion. Early in the session, when Kennedy denied he was an anti-vaxxer, a woman in the gallery shouted, “you are … first, do no harm” before she was removed from the packed committee room by security.

The prospective health secretary defended past comments that COVID-19 was a bioweapon that targeted black and white people, saying he based that on a government-funded study, and acknowledged he “probably” called Lyme disease a bioweapon engineered by the military.

“I believe that vaccines play a critical role in healthcare,” Kennedy said, adding that all of his children were vaccinated.

He was forced to again distance himself from a deadly measles outbreak in Samoa in 2019 just months after he visited the island on a trip reportedly co-ordinated by a local anti-vaxxer. Kennedy said vaccination rates fell in Samoa well before his arrival and claimed the trip was not about vaccines.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr appears before the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday for his confirmation hearing as health secretary.Credit: AP

“You cannot find a single Samoan who said, ‘I did not get a vaccine because of Bobby Kennedy’,” he said. “I support the measles vaccine, I support the polio vaccine. I will do nothing as [health] secretary that makes it difficult or discourages people from taking either of those vaccines.”

Vermont senator Bernie Sanders accused Kennedy of making a “major U-turn” on abortion. While running for president last year, Kennedy said he was “for choice and medical freedom”, and that women should be trusted to make the best decision for themselves.

His exact position remained unclear, however, as he defended abortion until full-term on at least one occasion, before saying he only supported it until the point of fetal viability.

“I have never seen a politician flip as quickly as you did,” Sanders told him. Kennedy would only repeat his line that he backed Trump’s view that every abortion was a tragedy but it was an issue for the states. Pressed on his fealty to Trump, Kennedy said: “I serve at the pleasure of the president, I’m going to implement his policies.”

Senator Elizabeth Warren tried to extract a guarantee from Kennedy that he would not profit from lawsuits against drug companies while in office.Credit: Bloomberg

Sanders also inquired about children’s onesies featuring anti-vaccine slogans sold by an organisation Kennedy founded, Children’s Health Defence. “Do you support these onesies?” Sanders asked. Kennedy said he was no longer involved in the organisation and had no oversight.

Elizabeth Warren, a senator from Massachusetts who contested the 2020 Democratic primary for president, grilled Kennedy about his financial stake in a lawsuit against Merck, the developer of HPV vaccine Gardasil, in which Kennedy has reportedly drawn referral fees of $US2.5 million ($4 million).

She asked him to guarantee he would not take compensation from any lawsuits against drug companies while secretary, and for four years after. “You’re making me sound like a shill,” Kennedy said. “You’re asking me to not sue drug companies, and I’m not going to agree to that.”

Warren clarified she was only asking him not to profit from suing drug companies. She ran through a list of ways in which, as secretary of the Department of Heath and Human services (HHS), he would have the power to influence the development or success of vaccines, and related lawsuits, from which he could make money.

“No one should be fooled here,” she said. “As secretary of HHS … Kennedy can kill off access to vaccines and make millions of dollars while he does it. Kids might die, but Robert Kennedy can keep cashing in.”

The hearing before the Senate finance committee on Thursday (AEDT) was the first step towards Kennedy’s confirmation. If the committee progresses him, he faces a vote before the full Senate, in which he can lose a maximum of three Republicans if all Democrats and independents are opposed.

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