Sen. Mitch McConnell votes against RFK Jr. in another break with President Trump
Sen. Mitch McConnell again broke ranks with his party and President Donald Trump Thursday in casting a vote opposing Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nomination to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.
“Mr. Kennedy failed to prove he is the best possible person to lead America’s largest health agency. As he takes office, I sincerely hope Mr. Kennedy will choose not to sow further doubt and division but to restore trust in our public health institutions,” McConnell said in a statement, decrying Kennedy’s “record of trafficking in dangerous conspiracy theories.”
The controversial nephew of President John F. Kennedy earned Senate confirmation by a vote of 52-48 despite the former Republican Senate leader’s opposition.
This marks the third “no” vote McConnell has logged against a Trump Cabinet nominee in the past three weeks.
To McConnell’s defenders, it’s an indication of the senator’s newfound independence since abandoning his post as Senate leader. To his many critics, it shows his dwindling influence as he looks toward his exit from the Senate, protected from the threat of another election.
The 82-year-McConnell, a polio survivor as a child, signaled his wariness with Kennedy’s vocal skepticism of vaccines in December, noting that “efforts to undermine public confidence in proven cures are not just uninformed — they’re dangerous.”
He recounted how normal life without paralysis was only possible because of modern medicine.
“But for millions who came after me, the real miracle was the saving power of the polio vaccine,” McConnell said in that statement. “Anyone seeking the Senate’s consent to serve in the incoming administration would do well to steer clear of even the appearance of association with such effort.”
Still, there was never any indication McConnell attempted to persuade any of his GOP colleagues to mobilize against Kennedy’s ascent. It would’ve taken four Republicans to sink his nomination.
The path to stopping Kennedy evaporated this week when moderate senators Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, indicated they would both support him.
Kennedy had been a staunch critic of childhood vaccines but during his confirmation hearings reversed course, describing himself as “pro-vaccine” and highlighting that he had all six of his children vaccinated.
“I believe that vaccines play a critical role in health care,” Kennedy said.
Kennedy, a longtime Democrat, is an environmental lawyer and activist who ran for president last year before dropping out and endorsing Trump in August.
In an overnight protest against his confirmation, Senate Democrats complained that Kennedy had misrepresented scientific evidence, while demonizing doctors, scientists and researchers who have spent years trying to keep people safe from disease.
But Republicans largely held together, backing Kennedy because he had the strong blessing of the president.
McConnell’s successor, Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota, said he was encouraged by Kennedy’s eagerness to focus on chronic illness and his commitment to implement the president’s “pro-life policies at HHS.”
This story was originally published February 13, 2025 at 11:31 AM with the headline "Sen. Mitch McConnell votes against RFK Jr. in another break with President Trump."
