The Senate voted almost entirely along party lines on Thursday to confirm anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as the next secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.
Democrats excoriated Kennedy during his recent Senate confirmation hearings, pointing out his long and terrible history of promoting junk science, especially around vaccines.
Beyond his debunked anti-vaccine misinformation, the raw-milk-drinking rich guy has a penchant for acting in bizarre and seemingly unhinged ways, such as when he reportedly chainsawed the head off a dead whale and strapped it to the top of his minivan.
As health secretary, Kennedy has promised to investigate vaccine safety, despite their already rigorous testing. He also wants to get rid of public water fluoridation, which is considered a public health victory in protecting young children from tooth decay and worse health outcomes.
“Secretary Kennedy’s confirmation is an important opportunity to reaffirm the longstanding, overwhelming and settled science regarding the safety and efficacy of vaccines, which remain our best defense against many serious infectious diseases,” the Infectious Disease Society of America said in a statement. “We look forward to working with lawmakers to hold Secretary Kennedy to his promise to maintain our nation’s vaccine approval and safety framework, including the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, the Vaccines for Children program and other public health vaccine programs.”
Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky was the lone Republican vote against Kennedy’s confirmation. A survivor of polio, McConnell chastised Kennedy’s anti-vaccination misinformation career.
“I will not condone the relitigation of proven cures, and neither will millions of Americans who credit their survival and quality of life to scientific miracles,” McConnell said.
Kennedy’s evolution from a Democrat to an independent and then into a craven Donald Trump-endorsing minion is depressing, to say the least. He joins a Cabinet filled with unqualified, wealthy jackals—so he will likely fit right in.
You can help ensure that Daily Kos remains the paywall-free home for our shared fight for democracy and justice. Daily Kos is supported by readers like you. Can you chip in today?
