RFK Jr.'s past could haunt nomination process
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Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Photo: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
Unflattering stories about Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s personal life and influential criticisms of his public health stances are already starting to pile up — more than a month and a half before President-elect Trump takes office and can even officially nominate him to lead Health and Human Services.
Why it matters: Kennedy can only afford to lose three Republican senators' votes, assuming all Senate Democrats vote against him. The question is how much the handful of wavering members will accept.
Driving the news: News stories published over the past few days highlight Kennedy's key vulnerabilities, including the wildcard presented by his colorful past.
- A deeply reported piece by the New York Times discusses his "drug addiction, compulsive sexual behavior and deep dives into conspiracy theories," including his arrest and conviction for heroin possession and a journal he kept documenting sexual encounters with more than three dozen women in one year.
- Kennedy was accused of sexual assault in the late 1990s by a woman who interned at his law clinic and babysat for his family. The woman has said she's willing to testify before the Senate, the Wall Street Journal reports. Kennedy didn't comment on the claims.
What they're saying: Trump's transition team is working to address concerns about Kennedy's abortion-related positions, CNN reports.
- A Trump transition spokesperson told CNN "this is President Trump's administration that Robert F. Kennedy has been asked to serve in and he will carry out the policies Americans overwhelmingly voted for in President Trump's historic victory."
Zoom in: Kennedy has in the past used the word "fascism" to describe the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's vaccine division and compared an alleged widespread cover-up of vaccine harms — for which there is no evidence — to the Catholic Church's cover-up of child sexual abuse, NBC reports. Neither Kennedy nor the Trump transition team responded to requests for comment from NBC.
- Kennedy ally Del Bigtree, CEO of the MAHA Alliance PAC, suggested on X that Kennedy's opinions haven't changed: "Bobby didn't get dragged through the mud for over a decade just so he could compromise his values once he finally got inside the castle."
The intrigue: Although criticism is nothing new for Kennedy, a powerful voice has joined in: Trump's former FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb, who is widely respected in GOP circles and beyond.
- Gottlieb said Friday on CNBC that he has "deep concerns" about Kennedy's intentions, especially related to childhood vaccines.
- "What I worry about is we're at a tipping point, that we're going to start seeing epidemics of diseases that have long been vanquished," Gottlieb said.
- "I think if RFK follows through on his intentions — and I believe he will, and I believe he can — it will cost lives in this country," he added.
