Breaking News: Senate Votes Kennedy to Lead HHS

For MAHA and Health Freedom Supporters, the Dawn of a New Era

By The Kennedy Beacon

(with contributions by Louis Conte, Adam Garrie, and Jennifer Galardi)

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will be the nation’s next Secretary of Health and Human Services. The Senate, voting largely on party lines, pushed Kennedy’s nomination across the finish line.

In a result that is sure to shake up ‘business as usual’ at the HHS and around the country, Kennedy is in as the nation’s most important health official, tasked with overseeing 13 government divisions and an estimated annual budget of $1.7 trillion.

Kennedy needed 51 votes to win confirmation. The final tally came to 52 “yeses” and 48 “no’s.” Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell was the lone Republican ‘no’ vote, as he had been Wednesday when he voted against Tulsi Gabbard’s nomination to become Director of National Intelligence (she was confirmed).

President Trump, who nominated Kennedy, is expected to swear him in later today.

Just prior to the vote, Senate Finance Committee Chair, Mike Carpo (R-Idaho), praised Kennedy for respectfully undergoing an extensive vetting process and encouraged “unanimous” support for his confirmation.

But Democrats remained passionately against Kennedy. In a combative counter-punch, Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) called Kennedy unqualified to lead the HHS. “This is dangerous and this is wrong,” he said.

Jay Richards, a representative of the new initiative at The Heritage Foundation to support MAHA efforts called RAW (Restoring American Wellness), thinks differently. “With Robert F. Kennedy Jr at the helm of HHS, Americans concerned about rising rates of chronic disease and the corporatist collusion in Washington DC finally have a champion,” he said. Richards continued, “The MAGA-MAHA Alliance is surely the greatest political realignment of our lifetime.”

Where previous HHS confirmations have passed with little notice, Kennedy’s drawn-out confirmation process garnered nationwide grassroots action. Supporters of Kennedy packed Senate Committee rooms during the initial phase of the confirmation, unique for HHS hearing. However, Kennedy’s confirmation was also opposed by major corporate and political entities.

On the far left, the well-funded political action committee, 314 Action, backs some of Kennedy’s most vocal critics, while former Vice President Pence fronted a non-profit group that attempted to persuade anti-Trump Republicans to vote against Kennedy’s confirmation. The Pence fronted 501(c)(4) Advancing American Freedom (AAF) spent over $250,000 on negative ads aimed at Kennedy in the run-up to his confirmation. It was subsequently discovered that pharmaceutical shareholders and former executives serve as executives at AAF.

The confirmation is a victory for Kennedy, the medical freedom movement, and the Make American Healthy Again [MAHA] movement –– as well as for Trump.

Mary Holland, the CEO of Children’s Health Defense, an organization Kennedy spearheaded over a decade ago to champion health safety for children, expressed gratitude for Kennedy’s confirmation. “It's hard to find the words for how much hope the Kennedy appointment gives to the health freedom community,” she told the Beacon. “Having been marginalized for so long, having seen Kennedy beaten up by the media for decades; having been lied to by governments and the medical-pharmaceutical system, it is extraordinary to see Kennedy rise to the highest possible position in the country to reform healthcare.”

Holland continued, “Kennedy has promised radical transparency and gold standard science from Health and Human Services. This is all that's needed -- just the truth and nothing but the truth.”

Sayer Ji, the founder of Global Wellness Forum, also expressed gratitude for Kennedy’s victory, “This is the moment health freedom advocates have prayed for — the dawn of a new era where the shackles of medical tyranny are finally breaking. For too long, families suffering from chronic disease, vaccine injuries, and the unchecked greed of corporate medicine have been voiceless, dismissed, and oppressed.”

Ji continued, “But today, with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. leading HHS, their cries for justice are answered. This is our 1776 moment — a declaration of independence from a system that has failed to protect us, and a reaffirmation of our sacred right to bodily autonomy and true informed consent. It is proof that the will of the people, when united, is unstoppable. President Trump has kept his word, and with this appointment, the people's mandate in our renewed constitutional republic is as good as gold. Let the restoration of American wellness begin.”

‘MAHA moms’ played a pivotal role in getting Kennedy confirmed, as reported in The Kennedy Beacon. Zen Honneycutt, who runs Mom’s Across America, told the Beacon that she deeply appreciates Kennedy’s “integrity, compassion, and commitment to our children” and is blown away by his courage to stand up to Big Pharma, Big Ag and the censorship machines.

“He’s really putting himself at risk and that type of dedication can only inspire the nationwide movement that has formed,” noted Honeycutt. “We show up for him because he has shown up for us.”

First as a presidential candidate and afterward as a nominee to lead HHS, Kennedy has been on a mission to help America’s children and the chronic disease epidemic. “For 19 years,” he said on Tucker Carlson Live last year, “I have been praying every day when I get out of bed that God will put me in the position to end the chronic disease epidemic so we can restore health to our children.”

Despite contentious hearings last week in front of the Senate Finance Committee and the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, by February 12 signs began pointing in Kennedy’s favor: On Tuesday, Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine announced that she would vote for Kennedy. “He told me he believed in the efficacy of the polio vaccine,” Collins said, “and said he would help restore America’s confidence in vaccines and our health agencies.”

On Wednesday, Republican Senator Roger Marshall of Kansas published an opinion piece in The Hill titled, “RFK Jr. is the Health Revolution America Needs.” Marshall, a physician, stated, “After meeting with Kennedy last year, I knew he had the vision and courage to bring about the change that our health care system desperately needed.” Marshall added, “Kennedy is focused on ensuring all Americans have access to nutrient-dense whole foods, safe medicines and effective primary care along with addressing the soaring mental health crisis that our youth and young adults face.”

Marshall addressed criticism that Kennedy was anti-vaccine: “Kennedy’s opponents focus on his vaccine skepticism, but let’s not get distracted. He has made it clear he will not change vaccine policy. What he will do is ensure that every medical intervention, including vaccines, is studied rigorously, and results [are] openly shared — something every doctor and parent should support.”

Also on Wednesday, Alaska’s Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski announced she would support Kennedy nomination.“Instead of focusing on who covers our exorbitant healthcare costs,” she said, “we need to reduce these costs by directing our attention to prevention and keeping people healthy.” Murkowski added, “This is the appeal of RFK, and many Alaskans have shared that view with me. Chronic conditions are a significant source of illness and major drivers of public debt; he recognizes this and is committed to addressing it.”

Murkowski also singled out Kennedy’s commitment to health issues impacting Native Americans. “I am encouraged by the time he has spent among Indigenous peoples, his commitment to tribal sovereignty, and his promised attention to the Indian Health Service,” she said. “He has spent time in rural Alaska and understands some of the unique public health challenges we face that require complex solutions.”