RFK Jr. addressing abortion, vaccines to build support in Senate

WASHINGTON — If Republican senators are concerned about Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s previous criticism of vaccines or support for abortion access, many who’ve had early meetings with him are not showing it.

President-elect Trump’s pick to lead the Health and Human Services Department is meeting with nearly two dozen senators this week in a bid to clinch their votes for his confirmation. STAT approached more than a dozen of those senators on Tuesday. 

None of them said they’d oppose Kennedy’s nomination outright, though a few said they have concerns about his views on vaccines. RFK Jr. has falsely claimed polio vaccines killed more people than the virus itself. A recent report that one of his associates filed a petition to remove a polio vaccine from the market prompted a statement from Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) warning against efforts to undermine polio vaccinations.