The Senate Finance Committee voted Tuesday to advance to the floor Robert F. Kennedy Jr’s nomination to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.
The 14-13 vote was strictly along party lines and came despite Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) saying last week he had serious doubts about whether Kennedy is qualified to lead the agency, primarily over his history of promoting a false link between vaccines and autism.
Cassidy had emerged as the pivotal vote, as Kennedy couldn’t afford to lose any Republicans on the committee. He can lose three on the Senate floor and still be confirmed, with Vice President JD Vance breaking the tie.
The three GOP senators who voted against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth — Sens. Mitch McConnell (Ky.), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Susan Collins (Maine) — are all seen as potential wildcards on Kennedy as well. None of them sit on the Finance Committee.
According to Fox News, Kennedy and Cassidy spoke on Sunday after the lawmaker said during the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee confirmation hearing last week that he remained skeptical, and suggested the two might talk over the weekend.
Cassidy, a practicing gastroenterologist, has been facing enormous pressure from Kennedy supporters and Louisiana Republicans ahead of the vote. He appeared torn between loyalty to Trump and his commitment to medicine.
Kennedy is one of President Trump’s most high-profile nominees, and his two confirmation hearings last week featured some fireworks as Democrats hammered him for promoting misinformation about vaccines, flip-flopping on abortion, conflicts of interest in his legal work, and his general lack of understanding about the details of health policies that would fall under his charge.
Senators during Tuesday’s hearing also voted to waive the seven-day rule that usually requires at least a week to elapse between a nominee’s confirmation hearing and a vote to discharge from committee.
