'Like he’s a rockstar': scenes from Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s confirmation hearings

WASHINGTON ? Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is a celebrity influencer.

That much was clear over two days of Senate confirmation hearings to evaluate his fitness to lead the department of Health and Human Services.

The high-ceilinged, wood-paneled rooms where the grilling took place, were packed to capacity. The spillover crowd hung out in hallways and overflow rooms. Most were women who had come to support “Bobby.”

There were also protestors who showed up, some wearing hats that said: "Say NO to RFK Jr." On the first day of the hearing, a protestor shouted “He lies!” during Kennedy’s opening remarks and was promptly escorted out. The chants of “We love you, Bobby!” mostly drowned out the critics who had assembled.

Seated in the front row, Kennedy’s wife, actress Cheryl Hines, was seen sporting a bemused smile as Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., peppered her husband with questions. The smile was a familiar one. It’s one she often flashes while playing the curmudgeonly Larry David’s wife on "Curb Your Enthusiasm." David has frequently played Sanders on "Saturday Night Live," and the two have even appeared together.

With a giant prop behind him of two baby onesies featuring anti-vaccine messages, Sanders thundered: “Are you supportive of these onesies?”

The room burst into laughter.

Sanders was making a point about Kennedy’s controversial views on vaccine safety ? and the onesies were being sold by Children’s Health Defense, a nonprofit founded by Kennedy.

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Nationwide fans and detractors

A former environmental lawyer without any medical training or experience, Kennedy has won the hearts and minds of many, particularly mothers, by excoriating food companies for unhealthy additives and food dyes. His platform is now known as "Make America Healthy Again."

He has said he will “reorient federal health agencies toward chronic disease and rid them of Big Pharma’s influence" and ban hundreds of food additives and chemicals that are already banned in other countries.

Melissa Bordes of Florida, a self-described MAHA Mom, was wearing a “Confirm RFK Jr.” emblazoned hat as she stepped out of the hearing room.

“He will be in the position to actually investigate what’s been going on,” said Bordes. “There’s been a lot of corruption from pharmaceutical companies that have hindered the mother’s ability to speak out about what’s going on with our children.”

Vani Hari, an activist and food influencer with more than 2 million followers on Instagram, was seated in the row behind Hines.

Wearing a fuchsia pantsuit, she nodded along as Kennedy spoke about the “chronic disease epidemic” and the role of additives.

“I lost faith in my government and my regulatory agencies because I had to go and directly petition food companies to change because they weren't doing the right thing,” she said after the first hearing. “It’s because the FDA was allowing them to get away with it.”

Hari, who is part of a group called Moms for America, said she wanted to see government leaders and politicians to take action and that Kennedy had “heard the call.”

“It shouldn't be just citizen activists like me holding these companies accountable,” she said. “It needs to be our politicians in Washington.”

More: 'Sometimes love means saying no': RFK Jr. on gender-affirming care for minors

Kennedy, however, also harbors 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.

Laura Anderko, a registered nurse, from Annandale, who holds a Ph.D. in public health and has 40 years of experience, said she was there to protest Kennedy’s confirmation.

Anderko said his reliance on “junk science and conspiracy theories” and his power to influence people into making “harmful decisions around health” especially around vaccines, were a big concern. Kennedy has publicized debunked claims that vaccines are linked to autism.

During the hearing, Kennedy insisted he was not anti-vaccine but "pro-safety."

“Chronic disease and infectious disease are equally important,” she said.

Dr. Manan Trivedi, an internist who practices in the greater Washington D.C. area, showed up at the Wednesday hearing to oppose Kennedy wearing a white lab coat

“The hearing was a circus,” he said. “Like he’s a rockstar, with all these people screaming his name.”

Trivedi said it was clear that Kennedy didn’t understand the healthcare system.

“His ramblings were just a hodgepodge of random thoughts,” Trivedi said.

Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., the chair of the Senate committee that met Thursday, said he had not made up his mind on backing Kennedy.

But Kennedy's sphere of influence was not lost on him.

"You've got a following, man," Cassidy, a former physician, told him during the hearing, adding that a lot of people look to him for cues on vaccinations.

Then he urged Kennedy to "come out unequivocally" and say vaccines are safe and that it does not cause autism.

"That would have an incredible impact," he said. "That's your power."

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: 'A Circus': scenes from inside RFK Jr.'s Senate hearings