Republicans skeptical of Robert F. Kennedy Jr’s views on vaccines

Robert F. Kennedy Jr’s past statements on vaccines could come back to hurt him. Republican senators say his previous statements are hurting his chances of being confirmed as the next Department of Health and Human Services secretary. 

According to reporting in The New York Times, Kennedy has said polio vaccines might have caused a wave of cancers that killed many more people than the virus ever did. He also said the idea that the vaccine caused a drastic decline in cases is “a mythology” and “not true.”

“I’ve got a completely open mind, but that kind of nonsense is not, it’s not helpful,” Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., told reporters Tuesday, Dec. 17.

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Sen. Kennedy is one of multiple Republicans who say RFK Jr. will have to explain himself. The two have no relation. 

“He should fire his lawyer,” Sen. Kennedy said. 

Attorney Aaron Siri is helping RFK Jr. hire senior officials at HHS for the incoming administration. Siri has previously petitioned the government to revoke its approval of the polio vaccine. 

Siri has done work on behalf of the Informed Consent Action Network. In addition to his efforts against the polio vaccine, he’s tried to pause the distribution of 13 other vaccines and challenged COVID vaccine mandates, in some cases successfully. 

“Call his lawyer up and saying, ‘Look, man, stop dipping into your ketamine stash.’ Polio vaccine has saved hundreds and hundreds of millions of lives in the world,” Sen. Kennedy said. 

Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who had polio as a child and has had physical limitations his whole life as a result, said efforts to undermine public confidence in proven cures are “uninformed” and “dangerous.”

“Anyone seeking the Senate’s consent to serve in the incoming Administration would do well to steer clear of even the appearance of association with such efforts,” McConnell said in a statement. 

On Monday, Dec. 16, President-elect Donald Trump said he’s a “big believer” in the polio vaccine and expressed support for Kennedy.

“No, I think he’s going to be much less radical than you would think. I think he’s got a very open mind or I wouldn’t have put him there,” Trump said.

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Kennedy can be confirmed with an all Republican vote, but he will work to win bipartisan support. Democrats are just as skeptical. 

“They’re life and death issues,” Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., told reporters. “Let’s be very serious about this. This is not a political game.” 

Republicans will hold a 53-47 seat majority in 2025. So Kennedy could lose three votes and potentially still be confirmed with JD Vance breaking the tie as vice president.