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CV NEWS FEED // Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Donald Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), testified at his Senate hearing Wednesday, where he vowed to fully back Trump’s policies on abortion.
In answering a question from pro-life Sen. James Lankford, R-Oklahoma, Kennedy said, “I agree with President Trump that every abortion is a tragedy. I agree with him that we cannot be a moral nation if we have 1.2 million abortions a year.”
“I agree with him that the states should control abortion,” Kennedy added. He additionally noted that Trump told him that “he wants to end late-term abortions and he wants to protect conscience exemptions and that he wants to end federal funding for abortions here or abroad….”
“I serve at the pleasure of the president,” Kennedy said. “I’m going to implement his policies.”
Lankford later took to X (formerly Twitter) to thank Kennedy for his answers.
“Oklahomans SHOULD NOT continue to be punished for valuing ALL life,” the senator wrote.
Also during the hearing, Kennedy referenced his Catholic faith while discussing the nation’s chronic disease epidemic, which he plans to address if confirmed as HHS Secretary.
“We have massive health problems in this country that we must face honestly,” said Kennedy. “And the first thing I’ve done every morning for the past 20 years is to get on my knees and pray to God that He would put me in a position to end the chronic disease epidemic and to help America’s children.”
“That’s why I’m so grateful to President Trump for the opportunity to sit before you today and seek your support and partnership in this endeavor,” Kennedy told the senators gathered at the hearing.
It was clear ahead of the Wednesday hearing that Kennedy was bound to face stiff efforts to undermine his confirmation, not only from members of his former Democratic Party but from the news media as well.
According to screenshots posted on X by author Calley Means, at least one journalist had pre-written a disparaging news headline about Kennedy’s performance by the beginning of the confirmation hearing.
The screenshot featured in Means’ viral post showed a working headline that read: “RFK Jr. faces grilling on ‘anti-vaccine’ comments and animal ‘mutilation’ at confirmation hearing.”
Also during the hearing, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, claimed that Kennedy has a “history of trying to take vaccines away from people.”
The senator further alleged that Kennedy in 2021 petitioned the Food and Drug Administration to “block Americans from having access to COVID shots.”
Kennedy responded: “We brought that petition after CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] recommended a COVID vaccine without any scientific basis for six-year-old children.”
“Most experts agree today, even the people who did it back then, that COVID vaccines are inappropriate for six-year-old children who basically have a zero risk from COVID,” Kennedy added. “That’s why I brought that lawsuit.”
As CatholicVote previously reported, Kennedy made headlines for his “vocal opposition to COVID restrictions, as well as his criticism of public health bureaucrats such as Dr. Anthony Fauci and a handful of large pharmaceutical corporations (colloquially known as ‘Big Pharma’).”
Less than two weeks before Election Day 2024, Kennedy starred in a CatholicVote ad in support of the Trump/Vance ticket.
“My Catholicism provided the foundation for a lifetime of striving to perfect my personal relationship with God,” the independent and former lifelong Democrat said in the ad. “Catholics may disagree on many issues, but we must find a way to love our children more than we hate each other. I hope you’ll join me in supporting Donald Trump.”
>> NOVEMBER: TRUMP PICKS RFK FOR HHS SECRETARY <<
In the weeks after Trump announced Kennedy as his HHS pick, multiple pro-life senators voiced their support. “I believe Bobby is still the right person for this position,” Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Oklahoma, said in a mid-December video.
An Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll around the same time found that “61% of Republicans approve of Kennedy, and only 11% disapproved,” CatholicVote reported at the time.
On the other hand, only 8% of Democrats approved of Kennedy’s nomination while 73% disapproved.
