Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was sworn in as the brand new secretary of Well being and Human Companies (HHS), hours after being confirmed within the Republican-controlled Senate Thursday by a detailed vote of 52-48 that was virtually totally alongside get together strains.
Kennedy stood within the Oval Workplace alongside his spouse, actress Cheryl Hines, and accompanied by his youngsters, whereas he positioned his hand on a Bible and swore the oath of workplace. Supreme Court docket Justice Neil Gorsuch swore in Kennedy.
After the ceremony, Kennedy instructed attendees about his first go to to the Oval Workplace.Â
“My first time on this Oval Workplace was in … 1962. I got here right here, and I had a gathering with my uncle who was president then, the place we talked in regards to the surroundings. He was concerned very deeply, as everyone knows, in restoring bodily health on this nation.
MCCONNELL WARNS RFK JR. TO STEER CLEAR OF THE POLIO VACCINE
“For 20 years, I obtained on my knees each morning and prayed that God would put me ready the place I might finish the childhood persistent illness epidemic on this nation,” Kennedy stated.
“On Aug. 23 of final 12 months, God despatched me President Trump. He is saved each promise he is made to me. He is saved his phrase in each account and gone method past it. … I am so grateful to you, Mr. President.”Â
Senate Minority Chief Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., arrives on the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., for a gathering with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in regards to the warfare effort towards Russia Sept. 26. (AP/J. Scott Applewhite)
Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky was the one Republican to vote towards Kennedy’s nomination. McConnell, the previous longtime GOP Senate chief, had polio as a toddler and is a significant proponent of vaccines.
Kennedy, the well-known vaccine skeptic and environmental crusader who ran for the White Home in 2024 earlier than ending his bid and endorsing Trump, wanted a easy majority to be confirmed by the Senate.
SENATE DEMOCRATS RAIL AGAINST RFK JR. IN LATE-NIGHT SESSION AHEAD OF VOTE
Former Republican presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, shake arms throughout a marketing campaign rally at Desert Diamond Area Aug. 23, 2024, in Glendale, Ariz. (Rebecca Noble/Getty Photos)
“I am a survivor of childhood polio. In my lifetime, I’ve watched vaccines save tens of millions of lives from devastating ailments throughout America and world wide. I can’t condone the re-litigation of confirmed cures, and neither will tens of millions of People who credit score their survival and high quality of life to scientific miracles,” McConnell stated after the Kennedy vote.
Kennedy, whose outspoken views on Large Pharma and the meals business have additionally sparked controversy, has stated he goals to shift the main target of the businesses he would oversee towards promotion of a wholesome way of life, together with overhauling dietary tips, taking goal at ultra-processed meals and attending to the basis causes of persistent ailments.
The push is a part of his “Make America Wholesome Once more” marketing campaign.
SENATE CONFIRMS ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR. TO SERVE AS TRUMP’S HEALTH SECRETARY
(L-R) President Donald Trump, actress Cheryl Hines and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., secretary of Well being and Human Companies, throughout a ceremony within the Oval Workplace of the White Home in Washington, D.C., Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. (Jason C. Andrew/Bloomberg by way of Getty Photos)
Trump repeatedly criticized Kennedy throughout his unbiased presidential bid, accusing him of being a “radical left liberal” and a “Democrat plant.”
Kennedy fired again, claiming in a social media put up that Trump’s jabs towards him had been “a barely coherent barrage of untamed and inaccurate claims.”
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Nonetheless, Kennedy made main headlines once more in August when he dropped his presidential bid and endorsed Trump.Â
Kennedy had lengthy recognized as a Democrat and repeatedly invoked his late father, former Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, and his late uncle, former President John F. Kennedy, who had been each assassinated within the Nineteen Sixties. Kennedy lately constructed relationships with far-right leaders due partly to his high-profile vaccine skepticism.
Fox Information Digital’s Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report
