RFK Jr. faces questions on past anti-vaccine statements, abortion in confirmation hearing to be HHS secretary

Committee chairman Sen. Mike Crapo, a Republican from Idaho, wrapped up the hearing a little after 1:30 p.m., after more than three hours of questioning. He thanked RFK Jr. for the hours he spent outside of the hearing answering senators’ questions, saying he endured “the most thorough vetting process that any committee in this Congress puts anybody through.”

“I think that you have come through well and deserve to be confirmed,” Crapo said. 

Sen. Tina Smith, a Minnesota Democrat, asked if Kennedy intends to give research on bird flu a break, noting that he had in the past said that he had said about eight years ago that he wanted to “give infectious diseases a break.”

“I intend to develop the appropriate resources to prevent any pandemics. That’s an essential part of my job,” he said. 

“What do you think is causing the avian influenza?” Smith asked. 

“I think it’s the H5N1 viruses,” he said. 

“That’s good to hear,” Smith said, “Because in a recent book… Mr. Kennedy has questioned the scientific basis for germs causing disease and the power of vaccines and antibiotics,” she said. 

“I’ve never questioned that, Senator,” he said. 

Sen. Ron Wyden, a Democrat from Oregon, said Kennedy didn’t succeed in reconciling his contradicting anti-vaccine and pro-vaccine stances. 

“Instead, he gave us a word salad and dumped the issue,” Wyden said, adding he found Kennedy’s testimony to be “untrustworthy and unprepared.”

Sen. Peter Welch, a Vermont Democrat, expressed far-reaching concern about Kennedy’s nomination, saying it goes beyond his views on vaccines.  

“This is not just about a debate on vaccines, it’s a debate about qualifications, experience and priorities,” Welch said.

Welch said “the question I fundamentally have is whether your willingness to disrupt and maybe break rules is going to be dangerous and destructive.” And the Vermont Democrat said there were incidents that “concern the question of whether the stability is there to be in charge of this major organization,” which he said is compounded by his concern that Kennedy doesn’t have experience in government.

When asked by Indiana Sen. Todd Young, a Republican, Kennedy defined his often described goals of “gold standards” to mean “real scientific research with replication of studies, which very rarely happens now at NIH.”

“We should be giving at least 20% of the NIH budgets to replication. We should make sure that all the science is published with the raw data. We should make sure that the peer reviews are also published,” he said. 

Sen. Tina Smith used part of her time to revisit Kennedy’s stance on abortion, saying the answers he has given to the committee during his confirmation hearing indicate to her that the Trump administration “is more than willing to restrict or even ban medication abortion without a single act of Congress.”

“What is clear to me is that you and President Trump are dangerous to mifepristone,” Smith argued. 

Smith went on to question Kennedy about his views on antidepressants, known as SSRIs.

Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock, a Democrat, brought up what he described as “disturbing characterizations” Kennedy has made about the CDC and its workers, including likening the agency’s work to Nazi death camps and sexual abusers in the Catholic Church.

“I don’t believe that I ever compared the CDC to Nazi death camps. I support the CDC. My job is not to dismantle or harm the CDC,” Kennedy said.

After Warnock read a transcript of the previous comment he referred to, Kennedy clarified. 

“I was not comparing the CDC to Nazi death camps. I was comparing the injury rate to our children to other atrocities,” Kennedy said. 

Kennedy said the U.S. is “having epidemics of all of these chronic illnesses,” citing autoimmune diseases, neurological diseases, allergies and obesity, when asked by Sen. Roger Marshall, a Kansas Republican and physician, about his vision for making America healthy again.

Kennedy said “something is poisoning the American people,” arguing that the “primary culprit” is the switch to chemical-heavy and processed foods Americans consume.

“We need to get a handle on this, because if we don’t, it’s an existential threat,” Kennedy said, outlining that fixing the food supply is the top priority.

During his line of questioning, Sen. Bernie Sanders brought up baby onesies with anti-vaccine messaging sold on the website for Children’s Health Defense, an anti-vaccine nonprofit Kennedy founded. In December, Kennedy stepped down as chairman or chief legal counsel for the group.

“You are pro-vaccine.. and yet your organization is making money selling a child’s product to parents for 26 bucks, which cast fundamental doubt on the usefulness of vaccines,” Sanders said. “Can you tell us now that you will, now that you are pro-vaccine, that you’re going to have your organization take these products off the market?”

“I have no power over that organization. I resigned from the board,” Kennedy said. 

The onesies read “unvaxxed unafraid” and “no vax no problem.”

“Are you supportive of these onesies?” Sanders pressed.

“I’m supportive of vaccines,” Kennedy said.

By Sara Moniuszko, Kaia Hubbard

When asked by New Mexico Sen. Ben Luján, a Democrat, about Medicaid, Kennedy agreed it is a “critical program,” but said it’s “not working as well as it ought to be.”

“President Trump has asked me to make it work better,” he said. “Most Americans are not happy with it. The premiums are too high, the deductibles are too high, and everybody’s getting sick or too much money is going to the insurance industry.”

In response, Luján recited a series of statistics from state polling that indicated high satisfaction with  Medicaid.

Luján later asked if Kennedy would support cutting Medicaid if President Trump asked him to. 

“It’s not up to me to cut Medicaid. It would be up to Congress,” Kennedy said. 

“Mr. Kennedy, if you don’t answer. I’ll move on,” Luján said.

Asked by Sanders whether climate change is a “hoax,” as the president has often said, Kennedy said he and Mr. Trump have differing views.  

“President Trump and I from our first meeting agreed to disagree on that issue,” Kennedy said. “I believe climate change is existential. My job is to make Americans healthy again.”

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Democrat, said he strongly agrees with Kennedy’s efforts to make America healthy again, and then, he he proceeded to ask him for a “yes” or “no” answer on universal health care.

“Do you agree with me that the United States should join every other major country on Earth and guarantee health care to all people as a human right?” Sanders asked.

“Senator, I can’t give you a yes or no answer to that question,” Kennedy said. 

“In the way that free speech speech is a right,” he asked. “I would say it’s different, because with free speech, doesn’t cost anybody anything, but in health care, if you smoke cigarettes for 20 years and you get cancer, you are now taking from the poor.”

Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican, asked Kennedy whether he is a conspiracy theorist.

“That is a pejorative, senator, that’s applied to me, mainly to keep me from asking difficult questions of powerful interests,” Kennedy said. 

Kennedy said he’s been called a conspiracy theorist for his statements on COVID-19 transmission early on in the pandemic, for his assertions about red dye causing cancer and for saying that fluoride lowered IQ. 

“I could go on for a week,” Kennedy said, citing the issues as examples of where public opinion has evolved over time.

The FDA recently announced it had decided to revoke food coloring Red 3’s authorization to be added to foods, over concerns about how the dye has been linked to cancer in laboratory animals. 

Last September, a court ruled against the EPA in a lawsuit about health risks due to fluoride in water.

Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat, asked Kennedy to commit not to accept money from any medical-related lawsuits while secretary and four years after.

“I’m not going to agree to not sue drug companies or anybody,” he said, avoiding a direct answer to Warren’s question. 

RFK Jr’s financial disclosures made clear he still intends to receive legal fees from Wisner Baum, a firm suing the maker of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine Gardasil over its alleged failure to warn consumers about its risks. His financial disclosure shows he earned $856,559 in referral fees from Wisner.

“No one should be fooled,” Warren said. “Secretary of HHS Robert Kennedy will have the power to undercut vaccines and vaccine manufacturing across our country, and for all of his talk about follow the science and his promise that he won’t interfere with those of us who want to vaccinate his kids, the bottom line is the same Kennedy can kill off access to vaccines and make millions of dollars while he does it. Kids might die, but Robert Kennedy can keep cashing in.” 

She previously asked him to commit not to “accept compensation from a drug company, a medical device company, a hospital system or a health insurer for at least four years, including as a lobbyist or a board member.”

After agreeing to this, he quipped, “I don’t think any of them want to give me money, anyway.”

When answering a question from GOP Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming on how he plans to address rural health care, Kennedy mentioned the use of artificial intelligence.

“President Trump is determined to end the hemorrhage of rural hospitals, and he’s asked me to do that through use of AI, through telemedicine,” he said, adding he’s seen an AI nurse that “you cannot distinguish from a human being that has diagnostics as good as any doctor.”

“We can develop, we can provide concierge care to every American in this country, even those in the remote parts of Wyoming, Montana, Alaska, etc.,” Kennedy said. 

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, a Nevada Democrat, pressed Kennedy over his approach should he be confirmed to lead HHS, repeatedly asking him whether he would serve as a rubber stamp for Mr. Trump.

“President Trump has asked me to end the chronic disease epidemic and make America healthy again,” Kennedy replied. 

Kennedy called chronic disease an “existential threat” in the U.S., affecting the economy, military and sense of well being, while stressing that addressing America’s sickness is a priority for the president. 

“And that’s why he asked me to run the agency, and if I’m privileged to be confirmed, that’s exactly what I’ll do,” Kennedy said.

New Hampshire Sen. Maggie Hassan, a Democrat, confronted RFK Jr. with comments he has made in the past about trusting women with the autonomy to make decisions about abortion, rather than the government. He acknowledged having made the remarks.

“My question is, exactly when did you decide to sell out your life’s work and values to get this position?” Hassan said, after raising topics including vaccines and abortion.

“Senator, I agree with President Trump, every abortion is a tragedy,” Kennedy answered.

“So what you’re telling us, just to be clear, because my time is limited, is that regardless of what you believe, regardless of what values you have, if President Trump tells you to do something, you’re going to do it,” she said. “That to me is unacceptable in Secretary of Health and Human Services.”

Daines followed up on the abortion issue with Kennedy, asking him about mifepristone — one of the two drugs used in a regimen to terminate early-stage pregnancies. 

Kennedy said Mr. Trump has asked him to study the safety of mifepristone, noting that the president has “not yet taken a stand on how to regulate it.”

“Whatever he does, I will implement those policies,” Kennedy said, adding that he will work with the committee to do so.

Sen. Steve Daines, a Montana Republican, praised Kennedy during his time for questioning, while noting that the nominee to lead the HHS would likely face a “very partisan vote.”

“I realize this will likely be a very partisan vote on this committee and on the Senate floor,” Daines said. 

The Montana Republican added that “there are three medical doctors on this side of the dais,” saying he is a chemical engineer.

“We believe in science, and I’m thankful that you do, too,” Daines said. 

If Kennedy wants to move from advocacy to public responsibility, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, Democrat of Rhode Island, told Kennedy that Americans need to hear a “clear and trustworthy recantation of what you have said on vaccinations, including a promise from you never to say vaccines aren’t medically safe when they in fact are.”

He also asked Kennedy to make it clear that he supports mandatory vaccinations against diseases that will keep people safe, adding his own state has confirmed its first measles case since 2013.

“Frankly, you frighten people,” Whitehouse added.

Sen. James Lankford, an Oklahoma Republican who is a staunch opponent of abortion, questioned Kennedy about the issue. 

He asked Kennedy about Title X, which provides family planning and reproductive health services to the uninsured and to low-income Americans. RFK Jr. said he would support Trump’s policies on Title X, adding that he agrees with Mr. Trump that “every abortion is a tragedy.”

“I agree with him that we cannot be a moral nation if we have 1.2 million abortion a year,” Kennedy said. “I agree with him that the states should control abortion.”

Kennedy said Mr. Trump has told him that he wants to end late-term abortions, protect conscientious exemptions and end federal funding for abortions. 

“I serve at the pleasure of the president; I’m going to implement his policies,” Kennedy added.

Kennedy said he came from a family that was split on the abortion issue, but said his family was able to discuss the issue while respecting each other, saying he wishes the same could be true for the nation.

“We need to welcome diversity in this country, we need to respect diversity, and we need to respect each other when we have different opinions and not force our opinions on other people,” Kennedy said.

Sen. Mark Warner, Democrat of Virginia, brought up Kennedy’s plans to immediately get rid of 600 NIH workers on day one, adding the nominee told him he’d like to lay off 2,200 people from HHS. 

“I will commit to not firing anybody who’s doing their job,” Kennedy said. 

“Based upon your opinion, or your political agenda, or Mr. Trump’s political agenda,” Warner countered.

“Based upon my opinion,” Kennedy said. 

“I guess that means a lot of folks who’ve had any type of views on vaccines will be out of work,” Warner said, adding the proposed layoffs would have “huge ramifications.”

Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Louisiana Republican, questioned Kennedy about Medicaid reform, dual Medicaid and Medicare eligibility and reforms he would implement. 

Kennedy argued most Americans would prefer to be on private insurance, noting frustrations with Medicaid, while arguing that “we need to figure out ways to improve care, particularly for elderly, for veterans, for the poor in this country.”

“Medicaid — the current model is not doing that,” Kennedy said. 

Cassidy, a physician, has condemned Kennedy’s vaccine views, and has been closely watched as a possible Republican opponent to his confirmation. Still, the exchange remained civil and focused on the public health insurance programs.

Sen. Michael Bennet, Democrat of Colorado, grilled Kennedy on statements he’s made in the past on several controversial topics, including COVID-19 and abortion — and reminded him of  the weight of the job for which he’s been nominated.

“It doesn’t matter what you come here and say,” Bennet said. “That’s not reflective of what you really believe… Because unlike other jobs we’re confirming around this place, this is a job where it is life and death for the kids that I used to work for in the Denver Public School, and for families all over this country that are suffering from living in the richest country in the world that can’t deliver basic health care and basic mental health care to them.” 

“It’s too important for the games you’re playing,” he told Kennedy.

Bennet said, “Out of 330 million Americans, we’re being asked to put somebody in this job who has spent 50 years of his life … peddling in half-truths, peddling in false statements, peddling in theories that create doubt about whether or not things we know are safe are unsafe.”

In an exchange with Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, Kennedy cited substance abuse services as a priority, saying he himself had been “a heroin addict for 14 years,” spent years in recovery and attends AA meetings daily.

“I hear the stories every day,” Kennedy said, saying he also often hears stories about barriers to care.

Kennedy said he spent many years litigating against HHS and its sub-agencies —  including NIH, CDC and FDA — on FOIA issues “trying to get information that we, the taxpayers paid for.”

“Oftentimes getting back redacted copies after a year or two years of litigation that should not be the case,” he said, speaking to GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa. “If Congress asks me for information, you will get it immediately.”

Wyden specifically asked Kennedy about measles, asking him to say whether measles is a deadly disease. Kennedy used the opportunity to defend his 2019 visit to Samoa, which occurred months before a devastating measles outbreak and which Wyden had referenced. He maintained that he had nothing to do with Samoa’s low vaccination rate, which exacerbated the measles spread, costing the lives of 83 children. 

“I support the measles vaccine, I support the polio vaccine,” Kennedy said, pledging not to do anything as HHS secretary that makes them difficult to attain or discourages people from getting vaccinated.

Wyden questioned Kennedy about his stance on vaccines, arguing that his opening remarks  and previous statements about vaccines are in conflict.  

“You have spent years pushing conflicting stories about vaccines,” Wyden said, adding, “Mr. Kennedy, all of these things cannot be true.”

Wyden noted that during his opening statements Kennedy denied he was anti-vaccine, but has said in previous media interviews that vaccines aren’t safe or that if he could go back, he would have opted not to vaccinate his children.

Kennedy claimed that the previous statements need context and said he’s previously clarified them. 

During the line of questioning, another protest broke out, as a woman shouted and held up a sign that read “vaccines save lives.”

When speaking on nutrition, Kennedy said the NIH and FDA need to research the relationship between different food additives and chronic disease.

“But I don’t want to take food away from anybody. If you like a … McDonald’s cheeseburger, Diet Coke, which my boss loves, you should be able to get them,” he said. “If you want to eat, you should be having to do that, but you should know what the impacts are on your family and on your health.”

When asked by Crapo about why he’s passionate about the nutrition-oriented disease prevention, Kennedy gave examples of differences in childhood disease from his upbringing compared to now. 

“When I was a kid, the typical pediatrician would see one case of diabetes in his or her lifetime, 40 or 50 year career,” he said. “Today one out of every three kids who walks through his office door is diabetic or pre-diabetic.”

Kennedy added the country has seen an “explosion” of autoimmune disease and of allergic diseases. 

“This is not just an economic issue. It’s not just a national security issue. It is a spiritual issue, and it is a moral issue,” he said. “We cannot live up to our role as an exemplary nation, as a moral authority around the world, and we’re writing off an entire generation of kids.”

Kennedy refuted reports characterizing him as anti-vaccine or anti-industry, claiming he is “neither.”

A protester stood as he made the comment, shouting, “He lies!” The protester was removed from the hearing.

Kennedy continued, asserting that he’s “pro-safety” and said all of his children are vaccinated.

“In my advocacy, I have often disturbed the status quo by asking uncomfortable questions,” Kennedy said, noting that he won’t “apologize for that.”

The nominee to lead HHS pledged to remove financial conflicts of interest in the agencies he would oversee, while creating an “honest” and “unbiased” Health and Human Service Department driven by science.

In his opening statement, Kennedy spoke briefly about his background as an environmental lawyer, where he said he learned that “human health and environmental injuries are intertwined,” while pledging to deliver on President Trump’s promise to “make America healthy again.”

“Today, Americans’ overall health is in a grievous condition,” Kennedy said, citing high obesity, diabetes and cancer rates, among other conditions on the rise. 

Kennedy argued that Americans are in worse health than any other developed nation, noting that the U.S. spends “more on health care” than other countries. He said when he met with Mr. Trump, he outlined his commitment to restoring health and “genuine care.”

“I promised President Trump that if confirmed I will do everything in my power to put the health of Americans back on track,” Kennedy said. 

Finance Committee Ranking Member Sen. Ron Wyden, Democrat of Oregon, said committee staff had reviewed thousands of RFK Jr.’s statements, books and podcast transcripts.

The records show “Mr. Kennedy has embraced conspiracy theories, quacks, charlatans — especially when it comes to the safety and efficacy of vaccines, he has made it his life’s work to sow doubt and discourage parents from getting their kids lifesaving vaccines,” Wyden said. 

If confirmed, Kennedy’s future recommendations will have “life or death consequences for the American people,” Wyden added. 

“Peddling these anti-vaccine conspiracy theories … our chief health officer is going to endanger the lives of kids and seniors across the nation,” Wyden said. 

CBS News medical contributor Dr. Céline Gounder is pointing out some of Kennedy’s contradictions on vaccines.

He has commented that “there’s no vaccine that is safe and effective” but also said “some of the live-virus vaccines are probably averting more problems than they’re causing.”

RFK Jr. has repeated false claims linking vaccines to autism — a theory debunked by decades of scientific research. But he insists he’s not anti-vax, saying in November, “If vaccines are working for somebody, I’m not going to take that way. People ought to have choice.”

Gounder, who is also editor-at-large for public health at KFF Health News, said on “CBS Mornings Plus” Wednesday ahead of the hearing that Kennedy’s “own words demonstrate a real confusion about vaccines and the science of vaccines.”

“He’s saying, on the one hand, ‘Oh, maybe these live virus vaccines, some of those are OK,’ (but) he’s especially against the measles vaccine that is a live virus vaccine,” again contradicting himself.

Gounder also called his statements linking autism to vaccines “thoroughly debunked.”

“We should be studying what causes autism, but if you’re studying the wrong things, you’re never going to figure out what it is,” she said. “I think big picture on vaccines, he is very dangerous, both through the power of the bully pulpit, but also through the power of the CDC and the FDA.”

The Rupert Murdoch-owned New York Post — very influential in Trump world as well — published an editorial on Monday urging senators to vote against Kennedy.

“The president and his team insist that RFK Jr. has been fitted with a policy straitjacket — that certain areas such as vaccines and objecting to energy strategy are off-limits,” the editorial says. “But in truth, the only straitjacket suitable for RFK Jr. is a real one.”

The editorial praises some of Mr. Trump’s other Cabinet picks, arguing they were chosen to “shake the establishment out of its complacency,” but Kennedy is a “political deal.” 

“RFK Jr. doesn’t want to restore trust. He wants to burn the whole thing to the ground to benefit himself,” the editorial says.

The editorial lists some of his past actions, including the fight to close the Indian Point nuclear facility, his campaign against fluoride in water, being a “serial womanizer,” saying COVID was designed to spare the Jews and his advocacy against all vaccines.

“The job of the health secretary and the Food and Drug Administration is to put the many first — how do we help the most people with a treatment?” the editorial says. “RFK exploits the rarity. All it takes is one person with a symptom — that maybe isn’t even associated with the drug or vaccine — and you have a lawsuit. He wants to give conspiracy theorists and legal opportunists material to twist to his own ends.”

In his inaugural speech, President Trump vowed to “keep our children healthy and disease free,” but his nominee to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has a long history of raising doubts about vaccines — despite decades of evidence showing they’ve saved millions of people from debilitating illness or death. 

“People forget what it used to be (before vaccines),” CBS News chief medical correspondent Dr. Jon LaPook said on “CBS Mornings Plus,” pointing to data showing a huge decline in cases and deaths from these diseases compared with pre-vaccine levels.

“If you look at the 10 top childhood illnesses every year, vaccines prevent more than 1 million cases and more than 10,000 deaths” in the U.S., he said. Worldwide, the numbers are even greater, with an estimated 2-3 million lives saved by childhood vaccinations each year. 

Read more here. 

As U.S. senators grill Robert F. Kennedy Jr. this week, President Trump’s pick to run the Department of Health and Human Services is expected to face sharp questions about his actions in an island nation half a world away. 

Kennedy’s 2019 visit to Samoa has recently brought fresh attention to his history of activism focused on raising questions about the safety and effectiveness of the measles vaccine — because his trip came just months before a devastating measles outbreak that claimed 83 lives, many of them young children. 

“It was very sad,” Dr. Take Naseri, Samoa’s health chief at the time, told CBS News. “It’s one of those things you don’t want to revisit.”

Kennedy has maintained that he had “nothing to do” with the people of Samoa resisting vaccines.

“I had nothing to do with people not vaccinating in Samoa,” he said in an interview with documentary producer Scott Hamilton Kennedy. “I never told anyone not to vaccinate.” 

Read more here. 

The day before Kennedy’s hearing, his cousin Caroline Kennedy sent a blistering letter to senators Tuesday describing him as a “predator” whose actions “have cost lives.”

In the letter to committee leaders, the former ambassador to Australia urged senators to reject his nomination as health and human services secretary, alleging that he “preys on the desperation of parents and sick children” as well as his own family members. 

“It’s no surprise that he keeps birds of prey as pets because he himself is a predator,” the two-page letter said. “His basement, his garage, and his dorm room were the centers of the action where drugs were available, and he enjoyed showing off how he put baby chickens and mice in the blender to feed his hawks. It was often a perverse scene of despair and violence.”

Read more here.

Kennedy, 71, is a longtime environmental lawyer and anti-vaccine activist whose family is mythic in Democratic politics. 

Though he initially opted not to enter politics, Kennedy — with widespread name recognition as the nephew of President John F. Kennedy and the son of Robert F. Kennedy — launched his own presidential bid in 2023. After initially seeking the Democratic nomination, Kennedy changed his bid to independent, before dropping out to endorse President Trump in August.  

Before launching a presidential bid, Kennedy worked for two decades as president of the   Waterkeeper Alliance, a nonprofit. He also founded Children’s Health Defense, which has launched legal challenges against vaccine requirements and approvals, and he served as chairman beginning in 2016 .

Kennedy attended Harvard University. He has a law degree from the University of Virginia, and a Master’s Degree in Environmental Law from Pace University. He’s married to actor Cheryl Hines and was married twice before. He has six children. 

While many of Kennedy’s stances, like questioning ultra-processed foods and the risks of synthetic food additives and dyes, have appealed to people across political lines — other views have been more controversial, including his doubts around vaccines, fluoride and other targets of his “Make America Healthy Again” platform.

Kennedy has spread anti-vaccine conspiracy theories, commenting that “there’s no vaccine that is safe and effective,” and has repeated false claims linking vaccines to autism — a theory debunked by decades of scientific research. 

RFK Jr.’s history on vaccines also has experts worried about what may happen if bird flu becomes the next pandemic. Amid his presidential run, he discussed having the National Institutes of Health take a break from infectious disease research. If confirmed as health secretary, this would be one of several agencies he would have influence over.

He has also promoted raw milk, which experts have long warned against due to health risks.

Conservatives have also taken issue with Kennedy’s views on abortion. Kennedy said in May that he didn’t support abortion restrictions at any point in pregnancy, before later walking the statement back and clarifying that he supports abortion access up to fetal viability. As HHS secretary, Kennedy would have authority over how the FDA regulates medications used for abortions.