Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Stories 1 - 20 |  Next >>

Kennedy Has Group Remove CDC-Like Page on Vaccines

Children's Health Defense site had typefaces and designs used by federal agency

(Newser) - Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has instructed Children's Health Defense, an organization he founded, to remove a web page designed to look like the CDC's site and written to suggest vaccines might cause autism. The Health and Human Services Department issued a statement saying Kennedy had ordered...

CDC to Launch New Search for Vaccines-Autism Link

Agency cites Trump's speech to Congress

(Newser) - In spite of a body of scientific evidence that vaccines do not cause autism, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is launching a new study to look for a link. "As President Trump said in his Joint Address to Congress, the rate of autism in American children has...

Most HHS Employees Receive Buyout Offers

Email goes to staffers in disease research, food safety, Medicare and Medicaid administration

(Newser) - Thousands of Department of Health and Human Services employees responsible for researching diseases, inspecting food for safety, and operating Medicare and Medicaid have been offered buyouts. The staff members have until March 14 to decide whether to resign in exchange for a payment of $25,000, CBS News reports. The...

Beverage Companies Hope Trump Blocks SNAP Soda Bans

RFK Jr. supports allowing states to prohibit people from buying soda with benefits

(Newser) - "If you like a McDonald's cheeseburger or Diet Coke, which my boss loves, you should be able to get them," Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said during one of his Senate confirmation hearings. The Health and Human Services secretary is, however, supporting a push to block people from...

Kennedy Says HHS Will Send Measles Vaccine to Texas

Secretary has played down the outbreak

(Newser) - Leading vaccine critic Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has been dismissive of the measles outbreak in Texas, now says that the spread needs to be stopped and that the federal response will include vaccinations. "Ending the measles outbreak is a top priority for me and my extraordinary team,"...

After 'Radical Transparency' Claim, RFK Jr. Backtracks

HHS reverses policy allowing public comment on its decisions

(Newser) - Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who promised "radical transparency" in the work of his department— a guarantee also made for him by President Trump—has proposed eliminating public comment on its actions. The change is included in a document placed Friday in the Federal Register,...

FDA Cancels Meeting on Picking a Flu Vaccine

Move draws attention to health secretary Kennedy's skepticism on vaccines

(Newser) - The FDA has canceled its usual spring meeting with an advisory panel of vaccine experts to discuss next year's flu shots, reports NBC News . The move has done two things: drawn attention to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy's skepticism about vaccines and raised questions about how effective next...

Kennedy's Measles Report Runs Into Experts, Texas Officials

Patients aren't in hospital to be quarantined, doctor says

(Newser) - "We are following the measles epidemic every day," the nation's top health official said in a Cabinet meeting Wednesday at the White House. Doctors and officials are suggesting that Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. isn't quite on top of the situation. For...

LGBTQ Activists Call New HHS Guidance 'Deeply Concerning'

Health Secretary RFK Jr. issues new guidance recognizing only 2 sexes: male and female

(Newser) - The Department of Health and Human Services has synced up with the Trump administration's push against transgender protections , releasing new guidance on Wednesday that states the US government recognizes only two sexes: male and female. The new "sex-based definitions" assert that "an individual human is either female...

Feds Giveth Accidental Pink Slips, Taketh Them Away

Chaos abounds as multiple federal agencies accidentally fire staffers amid DOGE cuts

(Newser) - Last week, the Energy Department had to scramble to rehire nuclear energy specialists for the National Nuclear Security Administration, after it mistakenly told hundreds of staffers at the agency they'd lost their jobs. That's not the only incident of head-count slashing gone awry throughout the government at the...

RFK Jr. Says Panel Will Look at Vaccination Schedule

Before confirmation as health secretary, he promised GOP senator he wouldn't change it

(Newser) - To earn the vote he needed to become the nation's top health official, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made a special promise to a US senator: He would not change the nation's current vaccination schedule. But on Tuesday, speaking for the first time to thousands of US Health and...

Trump Dismisses McConnell's Bout With Childhood Polio

Senator had criticized Kennedy's position on vaccines in explaining his vote against the nominee

(Newser) - Sen. Mitch McConnell brought up his history as a polio survivor on Thursday in explaining why he voted against making Robert F. Kennedy Jr.—who has worked to undermine the use of vaccines—the nation's secretary of Health and Human Services. The reference to his childhood battle with...

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Confirmed as Health Secretary

Mitch McConnell is the only 'no' vote among Republicans

(Newser) - The Senate on Thursday confirmed Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as President Trump's health secretary, per the AP . Republicans fell in line behind Trump despite hesitancy over Kennedy's views on vaccines, voting 52-48 to elevate the scion of one of America's most storied political—and Democratic—families to...

Senate Panel Backs RFK Jr. for Health Secretary

His nomination now goes to the full Senate

(Newser) - A Senate panel advanced the nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to become the next health secretary on Tuesday morning, reports the New York Times . In the closely watched vote by the Senate Finance Committee, Kennedy prevailed in a 14-13 result along party lines, per the Hill . The pivotal vote...

Kennedy's Fate May Rest With One Senator on Tuesday

Both he and Tulsi Gabbard face committee votes on their Trump nominations

(Newser) - It's a do-or-die day for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard on their Cabinet nominations. The Senate Finance Committee will vote Tuesday morning on whether to advance Kennedy as health secretary, and the intelligence committee will vote in the afternoon on whether Gabbard should oversee the nation's...

Kennedy Faces Senators for a Second Day
Two GOP Doctors Clash
During Kennedy Hearing
UPDATED
Jan 30, 2025 4:25 PM CST

Two GOP Doctors Clash During Kennedy Hearing

Bill Cassidy fact-checks Rand Paul on vaccines

(Newser) - Robert F. Kennedy returned to the Capitol on Thursday for Round 2 of his confirmation hearings, and the hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee was as testy as Wednesday's before the Senate Finance Committee. Some key moments from the hearing:
  • "What will you do
...

Sanders to RFK Jr.: 'Do You Support These Onesies?

Key lines from the RFK Jr. hearing

(Newser) - Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was grilled by members of the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday in the first of two confirmation hearings. President Trump's nominee to lead Health and Human Services faced questions about his stance on issues including vaccines, abortion—and onesies.
  • "Do you support these onesies?"
...

Nicole Shanahan Plays Hardball as RFK Jr. Is Grilled

Shanahan threatens to fund primary challenges against senators who don't vote to confirm him

(Newser) - Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appeared before the Senate Finance Committee for the first of two days of confirmation hearings Wednesday, and there was discord even before he had finished his opening statement. After Kennedy, President Trump's nominee to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, said, "News...

Caroline Kennedy to Senators: Don't Confirm 'Predator' RFK Jr.

She says her cousin is a hypocrite 'addicted to attention and power'

(Newser) - Caroline Kennedy has urged senators to vote against her "predator" cousin Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his "irresponsible beliefs" in this week's confirmation hearings. In a letter to senators and a video statement, the former ambassador to Australia warned against putting RFK Jr. "in charge of...

RFK Jr. Petitioned the FDA to Stop COVID Vaccinations

NYT reports petition was filed in May 2021

(Newser) - Robert F. Kennedy Jr. sought to have the authorization for COVID vaccines yanked six months after they had been released, the New York Times reports. Kennedy—President-elect Trump's health secretary nominee—filed a citizen petition to that end with the FDA in May 2021 on behalf of his Children'...

Stories 1 - 20 |  Next >>
Most Read on Newser