If approved, Kennedy will control a $1.7 trillion agency that oversees food and hospital inspections, hundreds of health clinics, vaccine recommendations and health insurance for roughly half the country.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Tulsi Gabbard and Kash Patel testify before Senate committees on Capitol Hill on Thursday as urgency builds to confirm President Donald Trump’s Cabinet nominations.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has said vaccines are not safe. His support for abortion access has made conservatives uncomfortable.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks at the Capitol in Washington, Jan. 9, 2025. / Caroline Kennedy listens in a meeting with Australia's Deputy Prime Minister on Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. AP Photo/J. Scott ...

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks at the Capitol in Washington, Jan. 9, 2025. / Caroline Kennedy listens in a meeting with Australia's Deputy Prime Minister on Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. AP Photo/J. Scott ...

The hearings were packed to capacity with protesters and fans, while the spillover crowd hung out in hallways and overflow rooms.

What to know from Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s hearings before the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday and the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions on Thursday.

In a letter to senators, Caroline Kennedy etches a damning sketch of her cousin, the latest condemnation Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has received from members of his family.

During his confirmation hearing for health secretary on Jan. 29, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. called the Make America Healthy Again agenda one of the most "powerful movements I’ve ever seen.”

As secretary of the HHS, Kennedy would oversee major health agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the Centers for Disease Control (CDC),

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. tried this week to distance himself from a long history of promoting conspiracy theories and false information as he parried questions from senators who are weighing whether to confirm him as the nation’s next health and human services secretary.

In a story published Jan. 28, 2025, about billionaires who are advisers to President Donald Trump, The Associated Press erroneously stated that Doug Burgum has an estimated net worth of