Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., raised serious doubts Thursday about Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s qualifications to lead the nation’s top health agency, pointing to his long history of anti-vaccine activism.
Cassidy, a doctor and influential swing vote in Kennedy’s confirmation battle, chairs the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee and sits on the Finance Committee—both of which Kennedy testified before this week.
At the end of Thursday’s hearing, Cassidy admitted he was “struggling” with the nomination.
Cassidy Presses Kennedy on Vaccine Misinformation
“Your past of undermining confidence in vaccines with unfounded or misleading arguments concerns me,” Cassidy said. “Can I trust that that is now in the past? Can data and information change your opinion, or will you only look for data supporting a predetermined conclusion?”
The exchange followed Kennedy’s fumbled response to Medicaid-related questioning from Cassidy a day earlier. Throughout the hearing, Cassidy zeroed in on Kennedy’s past claims linking vaccines to autism, repeatedly urging him to state that vaccines do not cause the condition.
“I can say that I’ve approached it using the preponderance of evidence to reassure, and you’ve approached using selected evidence to cast doubt,” Cassidy said.
He questioned whether Kennedy, at 71, could truly shift his views after decades of vaccine skepticism—especially given his financial ties to groups that promote anti-vaccine narratives.
Kennedy did not directly answer. Instead, he turned the focus to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), demanding to know why the agency hadn’t identified the cause of rising autism rates.
“Why don’t we know what’s causing this epidemic?” Kennedy asked. “Why hasn’t the CDC been looking at other hypotheses? Why don’t we know the answer after 30 years of a steady rise in the autism rate?”
Scientists Reject Kennedy’s Autism-Vaccine Link
While researchers agree that autism deserves more study, they dismiss Kennedy’s insistence on a vaccine connection. Scientists have long determined that genetics play a major role, and studies suggest rising autism rates are linked to evolving diagnostic criteria and greater awareness.
Kennedy sidestepped direct questions about whether he would acknowledge the overwhelming scientific consensus. After the hearing, he declined to tell reporters whether he had seen enough evidence to drop his claims about vaccines causing autism.
Cassidy’s Vote Could Decide Kennedy’s Fate
Cassidy’s hesitation poses a significant hurdle for Kennedy. As a Finance Committee member, he will vote on whether to advance the nomination to the full Senate.
Kennedy can only afford to lose three Republican votes if all Democrats oppose him. So far, no GOP senators have publicly declared opposition, but Cassidy’s concerns could signal a tough road ahead.
Cassidy’s Vaccine Advocacy Clashes With Kennedy’s Record
Cassidy has long championed vaccines. In the 1990s, he helped provide free hepatitis B vaccines to 36,000 children in Louisiana. As a senator, he introduced bipartisan bills to increase vaccination rates among pregnant women and has consistently supported school vaccine requirements.
At Thursday’s hearing, Cassidy recounted the “worst day of my medical career”—watching a young woman with hepatitis B being rushed to a liver transplant.
“I thought, $50 of vaccines could have prevented this all,” Cassidy said. “That was an inflection point in my career, and since then, I’ve tried to do everything I can to make sure I never have to speak to another parent about their child dying due to a vaccine-preventable disease.”
He directly challenged Kennedy to reassure parents that measles and hepatitis B vaccines do not cause autism. Kennedy responded cautiously, saying that if he saw supporting data, he would not only reassure parents but also apologize for any misleading past statements.
“I just want to pledge to you that I will never stick on a point if somebody shows me data that says I’m wrong,” Kennedy said.
Yet, when Cassidy examined a recent study Kennedy cited as evidence against vaccine safety, he found flaws. “It seems to have some issues,” he said after reviewing it during a break in the hearing.
Final Plea: Will Kennedy Change His Stance?
Cassidy ended the hearing with a direct appeal.
“Man, if you come out unequivocally—vaccines are safe, they do not cause autism—that would have an incredible impact,” he urged. “That’s your power. So what’s it going to be? Will it be using your credibility to support lots of articles, or will it be using your credibility to undermine?”
“I’ve got to figure that out for my vote,” Cassidy admitted, adding that while he wants to back Trump’s agenda, Kennedy’s vaccine stance could cast a troubling shadow over the administration’s legacy.
As the weekend approaches, all eyes are on Cassidy—whose vote could determine whether Kennedy gets the job.
