RFK Jr. To Be Grilled My Senators Funded By Big Pharma

President Donald Trump’s pick to run the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will be grilled in public hearings held by lawmakers who’ve pocketed more than $10 million from the pharmaceutical industry.

In a make-or-break moment for the movement to “make America healthy again,” Trump’s nominee to lead the crusade at HHS, environmental lawyer Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is scheduled to testify on Capitol Hill Wednesday and Thursday. Kennedy will appear before the Senate Finance Committee first, and the Health, Education Labor & Pensions Committee second.

“There are a series of industries that actually make money from keeping us sick,” Kennedy said in an interview with Dr. Phil last year, which the host re-shared this week. “You would think they want us healthy but they actually make more money if we get sicker. And of course, with the pharmaceutical companies, if you have a chronic illness then you’re a lifetime patient.”

Kennedy said the diabetes drug Ozempic in particular is being relied on to induce weight loss for a nation where more than two-thirds are overweight and 40 percent are obese. In November, the Biden administration proposed an 11th-hour rule to cover the medication under federal insurance programs. If confirmed as HHS secretary, Kennedy would decide whether to approve the $35 billion handout for drug manufacturers or terminate the proposal. Kennedy, however, has been a consistent critic of the medications now recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) for obese children as young as 12.

“A sick child,” Kennedy said in his August endorsement speech of Trump, “is the best thing for the pharmaceutical industry. When American children or adults are sick with a chronic condition, they’re put on medication for their entire life.”

Kennedy’s persistent antagonism of the pharmaceutical giants led to a shock in their stocks upon his nomination to lead the nearly $2 trillion agency in charge of regulating the drug industry. HHS holds jurisdiction over the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), making HHS a primary recruitment ground for the industry’s revolving door of influence, which Kennedy has pledged to eliminate.

On Wednesday, Kennedy will face his first round of questions before lawmakers on the Senate Finance Committee who’ve received roughly $7 million from drug companies between 2019 and 2024, according to a Federalist analysis of industry donations compiled by OpenSecrets. Members of the Senate Health Committee, who will question Kennedy Thursday, have received more than $5.6 million in contributions from the pharmaceutical industry, or nearly $4.4 million around a similar timespan once excluding Sens. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., Bill Cassidy, R-La., and Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn.

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., received more contributions from the drug makers than any other member of either party across both committees, with more than $691,000 between 2019 and 2024, according to OpenSecrets. Sen. Cassidy, a physician who has been one of Kennedy’s most vocal critics by targeting past skepticism of vaccines, came in a close second with nearly $673,000 from pharmaceutical interests in the same five-year period.

Dr. Nicole Saphier, a radiologist, Fox News contributor, and author of the book, Make America Healthy Again, told The Federalist that Kennedy’s “his well-documented skepticism towards vaccines and other health issues” are a primary liability.

“He has backed away on some of his rhetoric since the nomination process, saying publicly he does not want to restrict vaccines, only ensure their safety,” she said. But, she added, “he will have to convince physician members of the Senate and others that this is not a ploy to garner votes, rather he should lay out a specific plan on how he will improve the safety of vaccines and how access will not be impacted by whatever measures he plans to implement.”

Kennedy has also faced attacks from an organization backed by former Vice President Mike Pence that characterized Trump’s HHS nominee as an abortion extremist. The group, Advancing American Freedom, warned lawmakers of confirming a recent pro-abortion Democrat to oversee one of the nation’s most powerful regulatory agencies.

“While RFK Jr. has made certain overtures to pro-life leaders that he would be mindful of their concerns at HHS, there is little reason for confidence at this time,” the group said.

The group, according to CNN, has also received a six-figure donation from a pharma-funded foundation built on an empire of sugar substitutes and birth control pills.

“Not surprisingly, the group is also attacking RFK for supporting psychedelic therapy,” said Calley Means on X. A December poll found nearly half of U.S. adults favor Kennedy’s plans to legalize psychedelic substances for therapeutic use, though Republicans support the idea the least out of 10 platform items.

Republican concerns about Kennedy’s abortion views were largely laid to rest last month when he pledged to reinstate pro-life protections which existed during Trump’s first term. Kennedy had previously endorsed abortion through all nine months of pregnancy during the presidential campaign, a position he walked back last May once he learned women selectively “abort healthy, viable late-term fetuses.” He did not, however, fully embrace a pro-life platform backed by social conservatives.

“While the Pro-Life members may oppose his Pro-Choice stance, President-elect Trump has indicated he is against a federal abortion ban so voting against RFK Jr. because of his Pro-Chance stance is a moot point,” said Dr. Saphier. “Ultimately, I believe RFK Jr. will be confirmed since Republicans were handed a mandate by the American people and while they many not be wholly satisfied with the nominee for HHS Secretary, a vote against him by a Republican could be politically disastrous for the Senator.”

Democrats, on the other hand, worked to stall Kennedy’s confirmation proceedings with ethics complaints outlined in The New York Times last week. Trump’s pick to run HHS, the Times reported, plans to maintain a financial stake in a lawsuit against the vaccine manufacturer Merck.

“The ethics document said Mr. Kennedy would continue to collect fees for cases in which he referred clients to Wisner Baum, a law firm suing Merck over Gardasil, a vaccine that protects against the human papillomavirus, or HPV,” said the Times.

Michael Chamberlain, the director of the non-profit ethics watchdog Protect the Public’s Trust, told The Federalist that Kennedy’s arrangement should not be problematic.

“What’s sad is that much of it appears based more in cynical speculation than factual analysis,” Chamberlain said. “It is evident that RFK, Jr. complied with his obligations to provide all of the relevant information, and he has worked with ethics officials to set up structures to allow him to identify and avoid any conflicts of interest. The real question that should be asked is: what is the motivation behind this cynical speculation?”

Tristan Justice is a national correspondent for The Federalist and the co-author of “Fat and Unhappy: How ‘Body Positivity’ Is Killing Us (and How to Save Yourself).” He has also written for The Washington Examiner and The Daily Signal. His work has also been featured in Real Clear Politics and Fox News. Tristan graduated from George Washington University where he majored in political science and minored in journalism. Follow him on Twitter at @JusticeTristan or contact him at [email protected]. Sign up for Tristan’s email newsletter here. Buy “Fat and Unhappy” here.