Kennedy Confirmed as 26th HHS Secretary on 52–48 Senate Vote

The U.S. Senate confirmed Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as the 26th Secretary of Health and Human Services on February 13, 2025, by a vote of 52 to 48. Senator Mitch McConnell was the only Republican to vote against confirmation. The vote concluded a confirmation process that began with the Senate Finance Committee hearing on January 29, 2025, and a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing the following day.

The hearings centered on Kennedy’s prior public statements on vaccines, his views on pharmaceutical industry regulation, and his policy posture on chronic disease and the food supply. Committee Chair Bill Cassidy raised concerns specifically about Kennedy’s past comments connecting measles and hepatitis B vaccines to autism. Asked by Cassidy whether he would commit to advocating for current public-health guidance, Kennedy responded that he would be “an advocate for strong science.”

Kennedy was sworn in the same day as Secretary, and President Trump signed Executive Order 14212 establishing the Make America Healthy Again Commission on the same date, naming Kennedy as commission chair. The commission released its initial assessment report on May 22, 2025.

The 52–48 confirmation tally was the most politically contested HHS confirmation in modern memory.