Sawt Falasteen - Trump's health pick RFK Jr grilled in critical Senate hearing

The 71-year-old Kennedy family scion and former environmental lawyer is bidding to take the helm of a department overseeing more than 80,000 employees and a $1.7 trillion budget, just as scientists warn of the growing risk of bird flu triggering a human pandemic.

Critics argue he is dangerously unqualified, citing his promotion of debunked claims linking childhood vaccines to autism, his suggestion that HIV does not cause AIDS, and accusations that he fueled anti-measles vaccine sentiment in Samoa during a 2019 visit, months before a deadly outbreak.

They also say his lucrative consulting fees for law firms suing pharmaceutical companies revealed in disclosure forms pose a conflict of interest.

"He has made it his life's work to sow doubt and discourage parents from getting their kids life-saving vaccines," declared Democratic Senator Ron Wyden in his opening salvo.

Kennedy fired back: "News reports have claimed that I am anti-vaccine and anti-industry -- I am neither. I am pro-safety."

He also promoted his "Make America Healthy Again" (MAHA) agenda -- a riff on Trump's signature slogan -- emphasizing the need to tackle the nation's chronic disease crisis through healthier eating and environmental responsibility, drawing applause and cheers from supporters in attendances.

"Why do five of my kids have allergies?" Kennedy asked. "Why are we seeing these explosions in diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, neurological diseases, depression, all these things that are related to toxins in the environment?"

- Abortion flip -

Yet he notably shifted some of his stances to appease skeptical Republicans.

Although he has championed greener farming practices, he assured rural-state senators that any policy changes would be made with farmers' input -- and pledged support for Trump's anti-abortion agenda, including a review of the safety of abortion pills.

"I have never seen any major politician flip on that issue quite as quickly as you did when President Trump tapped you to become HHS secretary," Senator Bernie Sanders shot back, noting Kennedy had until recently supported abortion rights.

Though he has tried to soften his vaccine skepticism in recent months, Kennedy, or "RFK Jr" as he is widely known, spent two decades promoting vaccine conspiracy theories, especially around Covid-19 shots -- which he called the "deadliest ever made."

He has also stated that he exclusively drinks raw milk, claiming it "advances human health" -- a stance he maintains even as bird flu spreads among US cattle and has been shown to contaminate unpasteurized milk.

- Brain worm, dead whale -

Kennedy initially ran as an independent candidate in the 2024 presidential election, setting the campaign ablaze with a string of headline-grabbing revelations.

His claim of recovering from a parasitic brain worm, made during an old divorce deposition, resurfaced -- as did a tale, told by his daughter, that he once used a chainsaw to decapitate a dead whale.

He also released a video admitting that, a decade earlier, he had placed a dead six-month-old bear cub in Central Park after initially planning to skin it for meat.

His decision to back Trump after withdrawing from the race led to condemnation from his siblings -- and on Tuesday, his cousin Caroline Kennedy published a scathing letter to senators, urging them to reject him and calling him a "predator" who led younger relatives down the path of drug addiction.

"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," wrote Kennedy, a former ambassador and daughter of slain former president John F. Kennedy.

H.Nasr--SF-PST