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January 29, 2025 12:57 PM UTC

WATCH: Sen. Michael Bennet Destroys RFK. Jr.

  • 2 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols

This morning in Washington, one of the most controversial of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet nominees, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, had his first confirmation hearing in the U.S. Senate Finance Committee. Kennedy’s nomination to lead HHS is the product of an unholy alliance forged during the campaign last year that saw the former Democrat-turned independent presidential candidate endorse Trump in exchange for the freedom to, in Trump’s ominous words, “go wild on health.” Although RFK Jr.’s long record of embracing quack medicine and conspiracy theories regarding everything from childhood vaccinations to the deliberate engineering of communicable diseases of diseases like HIV has made him toxic among Democrats and his own family, the support his coalition of similarly-minded individuals was undeniably helpful in Trump’s narrow victory.

But as NBC News reports, RFK Jr.’s performance today provided both Democrats and Republicans ample reason to decline Kennedy’s nomination to direct the nation’s health policy:

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appeared before senators Wednesday for his first confirmation hearing as President Donald Trump’s nominee for health and human services secretary, facing a grilling on his views on vaccines and abortion…

The hearing highlighted the sharp division between the parties with Kennedy’s views, with Republicans thanking him for his past work and Democrats zeroing in on his previous comments casting doubt on vaccine efficacy, his conflicting statements on abortion and the millions of dollars he has made through an anti-vaccine group as well as through making referrals to various law firms.

Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado’s intense questioning of RFK Jr. forced Kennedy to own up to several particularly outrageous statements from his past, some of which Kennedy denied while Bennet pulled out the receipts. Here’s the transcript of the exchange you can watch above:

BENNET: There are many many things in the record but I hope that you could answer these questions yes or no. I’ve tried to ask these in a manner that’s faithful to what you actually said because I didn’t want to have a debate on whether you actually said them. So I’m asking you yes or no, Mr. Kennedy, did you say that COVID-19 was a genetically engineered bioweapon that targets black and white people but spared Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese people?

RFK JR.: Uh I didn’t say it was deliberately targeted. I just I just quoted an NIH-funded an NIH-published study-

BENNET: Did you say that it targets black and white people but spared Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese- [crosstalk]

RFK JR.: I quoted an NIH study that showed that-

BENNET: I’ll take that as a yes. I have to move on. I have to move on. Did you say that Lyme disease is highly likely a materially engineered bioweapon? I made sure I put in the ‘highly likely.’ Did you say Lyme disease is a highly likely military-engineered bioweapon?

RFK JR.: I probably did say that. [crosstalk]

BENNET: Did you say- Okay! I want all of our colleagues to hear, Mr. Kennedy. I want them to hear it. You said yes. Did you say that exposure to pesticides causes children to become transgender?

RFK JR.: No, I never said that.

BENNET: Okay well I have the record that I’ll give to the chairman and he can make his judgment about what you said. Did you write in your book and I – it’s undeniable that African AIDS is an entirely different disease from Western AIDS? Yes or no, Mr. Kennedy?

RFK JR.: I’m not sure if I may…

In each cited case, Bennet had the facts on his side and Kennedy was totally unable to justify his past statements. But since these factual refutations are unlikely to be persuasive with Bennet’s Republican colleagues who will need a compelling reason to defy Trump, Bennet turned to a subject that no Republican can in good conscience ignore: Kennedy’s longstanding support for abortion rights.

BENNET: Okay I’ll give it to the Chairman. Mr. Kennedy, in the my final question, did you say on a podcast, and I quote, “I wouldn’t leave it [abortion] to the states. My belief is we should leave it to the woman. We shouldn’t have the government involved, even if it’s full-term.” Did you say that, Mr. Kennedy?

RFK JR.: Uh Senator, I believe that every abortion is a tragedy-

BENNET: Did you say it, Mr. Kennedy?

RFK JR.: I-

By this point Bennet had had enough, and turned on the flamethrower in conclusion:

BENNET: This matters! It doesn’t matter what you come here and say that isn’t true, that’s not reflective of what you believe, that you haven’t said over decade after decade after decade, because unlike other jobs we’re confirming around this place, this is a job where it is life and death for the kids that I used to work for in the Denver Public Schools and for families all over this country that are suffering from living in the richest country in the world that can’t deliver basic healthcare and basic mental health care to them. It’s too important for the games that you’re playing, Mr. Kennedy. And I hope my colleagues will say to the president- I have no influence over him- I hope my colleagues will say to the president ‘out of 330 million Americans, we can do better than this.’

Although no Republican Senators have publicly come out against RFK Jr.’s nomination yet, this hearing gave conservatives as many reasons to vote against Kennedy as he did Democrats. Sen. Mitch McConnell, who suffered from polio as a child, has condemned Kennedy’s past opposition to the polio vaccine without indicating if it was a dealbreaker for Kennedy’s nomination. Alaska’s Sen. Lisa Murkowski has expressed similar “concerns.” Former Vice President Mike Pence’s PAC Advancing American Freedom is aggressively advocating against Kennedy over his support for abortion rights.

Kennedy’s questionable nomination represents what could be the biggest test yet for Trump’s ability to subjugate his party at the expense of their collective values and even their most basic political instincts. At the same time, Kennedy’s shaky performance today will make it very difficult for Democrats who have considered for whatever reason giving him a pass to hold that line going forward.

It’s not over yet, but Colorado’s senior U.S. Senator took a big chunk out of Kennedy’s hopes today.

Comments

2 thoughts on “WATCH: Sen. Michael Bennet Destroys RFK. Jr.

  1. Also today: 

    New strain of bird flu detected in US for the first time

    In addition to H5N9, the H5N1 strain—already prevalent among animals in the US—was also detected at the farm. The discovery of H5N9 raises fresh concerns about the potential for further outbreaks among poultry and wild birds. 

    The emergence of a new bird flu strain comes as health experts have been warning about the virus’s growing threat. With avian influenza showing signs of mutation and spreading to cattle in some regions, researchers fear it could pose an increasing risk to humans.  

     

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