From conspiracy theories to a heated vaccine debate, here’s what to expect at the RFK Jr. hearings

WASHINGTON – Vaccines contributing to autism, antidepressants being linked to school shootings, and the dangers of ultra-processed food are expected to be among the flash-point topics at the confirmation hearings for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.

Kennedy, 71, is among President Donald Trump's divisive Cabinet picks, in part because he rose to prominence by expressing views that his critics deride as conspiracy theories.

Kennedy is set to testify in Senate hearings Wednesday and Thursday, but just one of those committees will vote on his nomination to determine if his nomination goes before the full Senate for a vote.

Among his views that have been discredited: Wi-Fi causes cancer, fluoride in public water systems causes bone cancer and IQ loss, and COVID-19 was “ethnically targeted” to attack “Caucasians and Black people” while sparing “Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese” people.

More: Live updates: RFK Jr. set to face opposition from Senators in confirmation hearing

Gaining a following with his Make America Healthy Again campaign

Kennedy ran for president as a Democrat in 2024 and eventually dropped out and endorsed Trump. He brought with him his newly minted Make America Healthy Again movement, which focused on chronic diseases, additives in processed food, chemicals in the environment and pharmaceutical drugs.Trump has also said he’d let Kennedy “go wild” on health, food and medicine.

Courtney Luna, a mother of two and the author of "Carnivore in the Kitchen" said she had “high hopes” about Kennedy.

“Our grocery stores (are) just filled with processed junk and dyes and chemicals,” she said. “You have food scientists that are creating these foods to hit that bliss point and make you addicted to them."

Democratic senators have called for pushback, alarmed by the prospect of Kennedy's candidacy.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., wrote Kennedy a letter before his confirmation hearings, saying, “I am deeply concerned that you could influence the vaccine approval and recommendation process by putting vaccine skeptics on advisory committees and make life-saving vaccines less accessible to American families."

Earlier this month, the Committee to Protect Health Care released an open letter signed by more than 15,000 doctors urging the Senate to reject Kennedy's nomination.

Kennedy has “a well-documented history of spreading dangerous disinformation on vaccines,” leaving “vulnerable communities unprotected and placing millions of lives at risk,” the letter says. “His appointment is a direct threat to the safety of our patients and the public at large."

The White House on Tuesday night cast doubt about the number of doctors who had signed the petition pointing to a Breitbart investigation, and calling it a "hoax." The publication claimed it was able to sign up as "Dr. Donald Duck, OG, of Disney World, FL, specializing in podiatry." The group "accepts fake signatures" the White House said.

Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of former President John F. Kennedy, and Kennedy's cousin, called him a "predator" in a letter she sent to senators ahead of the hearings. The letter was posted on Instagram by her son, Jack Schlossberg, on Tuesday.

“I have known Bobby my whole life," Caroline Kennedy wrote. "We grew up together. It’s no surprise that he keeps birds of prey as pets because he himself is a predator."

She said overseeing the Food and Drug Administration, National Institutes of Health, and the Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention, which are run by the Department of Health and Human Services, protect the "most vulnerable amongst us" and constitute an "enormous responsibility, and one that Bobby is unqualified to fill."

"His views on vaccines are dangerous and willfully misinformed," she wrote. "These facts alone should be disqualifying, but he has personal qualities related to this job, which for me pose even greater concern."

Republicans have a 53-47 majority in the Senate, and a couple of GOP members told USA TODAY they were not worried about Kennedy’s chances of being confirmed.

Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., said she was “very much in favor” of his nomination. Asked if she was worried he might push to ban some vaccines, Lummis said, “Heavens, no.”

“I think he'll concentrate on childhood obesity, which is a huge issue for our country,” she said. “There's no reason that the United States, the wealthiest country on earth, with such a strong science background, should let this issue go unaddressed.”

An outspoken critic of popular anti-obesity drugs, Kennedy seems to have tempered his views on the topic. He recently told CNBC they “have a place” in battling obesity, but that the “first line of response should be lifestyle.”

Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, said he was not worried about Kennedy's stances or his prospects of confirmation.

“I think he's going to do fantastic things. I think there's a lot of people who are really excited,” Moreno said. “At the end of the day, we have to look into some of the structural things that have never been questioned, around health and safety of Americans with our food supply.”

Moreno said he was not worried about Kennedy's stances, including those on vaccines, because, he said, the nominees “understand their job is to serve the president's agenda, not their own personal agenda.”

“If they go outside (Trump’s agenda), they’re going to get fired,” he added.

Kennedy comes from one of the most well-known political families in the U.S., and one that suffered many tragic losses in the public sphere. His father, Robert F. Kennedy, represented New York in the U.S. Senate and served as the attorney general to his brother President John F. Kennedy.

Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1968. John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963.

Contributing: Alyssa Goldberg of USA TODAY.

Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy is a White House Correspondent for USA TODAY. You can follow her on X @SwapnaVenugopal

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: RFK Jr.'s views on vaccines, meds and food face scrutiny in Senate