Four takeaways from Kennedy Jr’s first confirmation hearing

In fact, Kennedy in a 2023 podcast cited a study that linked the herbicide atrazine to male frogs developing female sex organs. Kennedy said then, “I think a lot of the problems we see in kids, and particularly boys, it’s probably underappreciated how much of that is coming from chemical exposures, including a lot of the sexual dysphoria that we’re seeing.”

He said his 2023 comment that “There’s no vaccine that is, you know, safe and effective” was taken out of context. He claimed that he was “interrupted” before he could finish his thought. “I was going to continue, ‘for every person.’ Every medicine has people who are sensitive to them, including vaccines.”

He also denied that in 2013 he likened the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention’s actions to “Nazi death camps.”

“I was not comparing the CDC to Nazi death camps; I was comparing the injury rate to our children to other atrocities,” Kennedy said. “And I wouldn’t compare, of course, the CDC to Nazi death camps. To the extent that any statements that I made has been interpreted that way – yeah, I don’t agree with that.”

But Kennedy did own at least one conspiracy theory.

When asked if he had claimed that Lyme disease is “highly likely to have been” a bioweapon from the military, Kennedy acknowledged, “I probably did say that.”

(He did.)

2. He walked a fine line on abortion, signalled abortion pill could be limited

Abortion occupied an unusual role at the hearing. Despite Trump nominating an abortion rights advocate to lead the US health agency – something that was once virtually unthinkable in a GOP administration and that could give conservatives pause – it was mostly Democrats broaching the issue.

They sought to cast Kennedy as an opportunist who would be willing to set aside his long-standing convictions to serve a president who set back abortion rights more than any other president in history.

And Kennedy clearly sought to play to the right.

When Democrats mentioned his past statements – including at one point saying he supported abortion “even if it’s full term” – he repeatedly said, “Every abortion is a tragedy.”

But perhaps his biggest comments, practically speaking, came on mifepristone, also known as the abortion pill. He signalled on two occasions that Trump had tasked him with reviewing the pill’s safety and possibly limiting it.

“President Trump has asked me to study the safety of mifepristone,” Kennedy said. “He has not yet taken a stand on how to regulate it. Whatever he does, I will implement those policies.”

Two points.

The first is that there have already been extensive studies on the safety of mifepristone.

The second is that this is difficult to square with Trump’s own comments downplaying the prospect of limiting the abortion pill. Trump was asked after the 2024 election if he would commit to “making sure that the FDA does not strip [women’s] ability to access abortion pills.” Trump responded, “That would be my commitment.”

Kennedy’s answer could endear him to anti-abortion Republicans, and he needs only Republican votes to be confirmed. But it undercuts Trump’s promise and could give Democrats fodder, given how strongly Americans favour mifepristone access.

3. He stumbled over details on Medicaid

One of the big questions looming over several of Trump’s nominees is their lack of traditional and relevant experience.

And at a few points, Kennedy tripped up over some basics about Medicaid – a government program of health insurance for adults and children with limited income.

He said people were unhappy with the program because “premiums are too high, the deductibles are too high.” At another point, he asked rhetorically about Medicaid: “Are the premiums low enough?” He repeated later: “The premiums are too high. The deductibles are too high.”

With a few exceptions, Medicaid patients don’t pay premiums or deductibles.

Kennedy said at another point that Medicaid was “fully paid for” by “the federal government”. In fact, states fund more than 30 per cent of it.

The Finance Committee’s ranking Democrat, Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, said the comments showed Kennedy’s lack of preparedness.

“I find your presentation to be both untrustworthy and unprepared because my colleagues have been seeing [your] back and forth between Medicare and Medicaid,” Wyden said. “And it’s not clear which program you’re using when.” Medicare is a health insurance program for people over 65 and younger people with disabilities.

4. Republicans declined to press him too hard

Kennedy’s nomination presented at least the possibility that some Democrats could vote for him – given his past as a Democrat, his work on environmental issues and some senators’ statements suggesting they were open-minded – while several Republicans could vote against him.

But that seems more remote now.

Democratic Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, a longtime friend of Kennedy’s, at one point even told him, “Frankly, you frighten people.”

And Republicans seemed reluctant to push him too hard. As noted, few Republicans brought up the abortion issue. And while some asked sceptical questions, few signalled they had major qualms. Many of them expressed support for Kennedy’s goal to “Make America Healthy Again”.

Senator Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican, a potential swing vote who recently balked at backing Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, even downplayed the charge that Kennedy was a conspiracy theorist.

Republican John Barrasso of Wyoming, a medical doctor who just nine months ago said Kennedy had disqualified his presidential campaign by criticising red states, asked generally polite and wonky questions.

But even some more gentle questions elicited potentially problematic statements. For instance, it was Republican Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, another medical doctor who could be an important vote, who elicited Kennedy’s stumbles on Medicaid with his detailed questions.

Kennedy generally focused on appealing to Republicans, given that he really needs only their votes to get confirmed in the 53-47 Republican-majority Senate.

The Republican Party’s apparent evolution on Kennedy was striking. It was just last year, after all, that Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’s statement suggesting Kennedy could occupy a significant role in his administration was quickly walked back amid a conservative backlash.

For now, most of the conservative resistance to Kennedy is playing out outside the Senate.

The Washington Post