(SRN NEWS/REUTERS) – Robert F. Kennedy Jr, a vaccine critic who has pledged to tackle chronic disease, was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as Health Secretary on Thursday, after overcoming resistance from the medical establishment and members of Congress with promises to limit his role in vaccine policy.
After Kennedy is sworn into the position later on Thursday, President Donald Trump will sign an executive order to establish a MAHA commission, named for Kennedy’s “Make America Healthy Again” movement, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said on Fox News on Thursday.
The order will direct the new secretary of the Health and Human Services Department “to investigate this chronic crisis plaguing our country,” she said.
The vote to confirm Kennedy was 52-48, with Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky the lone Republican joining all 47 Democrats to vote against Kennedy, who had made pledges to protect existing vaccination programs in a bid to secure votes of hesitant lawmakers.
Once sworn in, Kennedy will oversee multiple high-profile agencies, including the FDA and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Kennedy, 71, is an environmental lawyer who has long sown doubts about the safety and efficacy of vaccines that have helped curb disease and prevented millions of deaths for decades.