R obert F. Kennedy Jr., President Trump’s pick to head the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), was grilled by Democratic senators during his confirmation hearing on Jan. 29 and Jan. 30, who confronted him with conspiratorial and conflicting statements he has made about COVID-19.

The man who hopes to be President Donald Trump’s health secretary says he needs to see data showing vaccines are safe, but he dismissed the evidence shown by an influential Republican senator.

The following first ran on CounterPunch at the height of the COVID pandemic in January of 2022. Are anti-vaccine propagandists really being censored?

Fact checked by Nick Blackmer This week, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. faced two days of questioning about his stance on controversial health topics and his vision for operating the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) should he be confirmed as the nation’s health secretary.

Kennedy Jr. is revising his ethics agreement to divest his interest in litigation against an HPV vaccine maker and directing the stake to his adult son, The New York Times reported Friday, citing a written response to questions from senators who are weighing his confirmation as Health and Human Services secretary.

Citing unverified data, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. claimed in December 2021 that the Covid-19 vaccine was the “deadliest vaccine ever made.” A few months prior, he petitioned the Food and Drug Administration to rescind authorization of the Covid-19 shots.

RFK Jr., Trump's nominee for HHS secretary, has been condemned by major Jewish groups for fueling antisemitic COVID-19 conspiracy theories.

US Senator Michael Bennet, a Colorado Democrat, grills Robert F. Kennedy Jr. about his past comments on Covid, lyme disease and abortion during the Senate Finance Committee confirmation hearing to be Secretary of Health and Human Services.