U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell voted against Robert F. Kennedy Jr. during his confirmation for Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Thursday morning.
Following the 52-48 vote, the Kentucky senator and former Senate Republican leader said that as a survivor of polio during his childhood, he “will not condone the re-litigation of proven cures, and neither will millions of Americans who credit their survival and quality of life to scientific miracles.”
“Individuals, parents, and families have a right to push for a healthier nation and demand the best possible scientific guidance on preventing and treating illness. But a record of trafficking in dangerous conspiracy theories and eroding trust in public health institutions does not entitle Mr. Kennedy to lead these important efforts,” McConnell said in a news release after the vote.
“Mr. Kennedy failed to prove he is the best possible person to lead America’s largest health agency,” McConnell said. “As he takes office, I sincerely hope Mr. Kennedy will choose not to sow further doubt and division but to restore trust in our public health institutions.”
Kennedy is a longtime critic of vaccines and the former presidential candidate and longtime environmental lawyer has faced widespread opposition from Democrats and objections from some Republicans, making him one of Trump’s weakest Cabinet nominees, USA TODAY reports. He’ll now oversee the Department of Health and Human Services, with a budget of $1.7 trillion for the 2025 fiscal year.
Outside of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Republican senators have stayed united behind the President Donald Trump’s Cabinet picks, but Kennedy’s nomination as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services presented Republicans with their biggest test yet.
McConnell had previously raised concerns over Kennedy’s position on vaccines and was the lone Republican to vote in opposition of his Secretary position. The no vote comes on the heels of McConnell being the only Republican to vote against new Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard Wednesday.
“The nation should not have to worry that the intelligence assessments the President receives are tainted by a Director of National Intelligence with a history of alarming lapses in judgment,” McConnell said following the vote.
Mitch McConnell Mitch McConnell casts only Republican vote against new intelligence director Tulsi Gabbard
Gabbard previously served as a Democratic congresswoman for Hawai’i from 2013-21, USA TODAY reported, and left the Democratic Party in 2022 following a bid in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary. She switched her allegiances to President Donald Trump in the 2024 election and will now oversee the 18 agencies within the U.S. Intelligence Community and serve as the top adviser on intelligence matters in Trump’s Cabinet.
USA TODAY reporters Joey Garrison and Savannah Kuchar and The Courier Journal reporter Killian Baarlaer contributed. Reach Marina Johnson at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Mitch McConnell votes against RFK Jr. for HHS Secretary
