Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been confirmed by the U.S. Senate to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.
Senators Chris Murphy and Richard Blumenthal from Connecticut were among many Democrats who opposed his nomination. They spent Wednesday night until early Thursday morning on the Senate floor talking about it.
Senate Democrats knew they didn't have enough votes to stop RFK Jr.’s confirmation. But Murphy has said it’s his party’s job as the opposition to delay the vote and tell Americans why they don’t think RFK Jr. should lead HHS.
For hours, they talked about his vaccine conspiracy theories, changing views on abortion rights, and claims that environmental chemical exposure makes children gay or transgender.
“He has pushed these kinds of debunked theories linking childhood vaccinations to autism, claiming that COVID-19 vaccines were weaponized against specific ethnic and socioeconomic groups, and profiting off lawsuits against life-saving vaccines that prevent deadly diseases like cervical cancer, measles, tetanus, and chicken pox,” Blumenthal said.
“Pick somebody else,” Murphy said. “Find somebody who isn't so enthusiastically going to gut funding for research. Find somebody who doesn't show such affection for conspiracy theories. Find somebody who doesn't blame shootings on treating kids for mental illness.”
According to Murphy, University of Connecticut officials said RFK Jr.’s proposed funding cuts at the National Institute of Health could result in $165 million in cuts at their labs.
