Following a close 52 to 48 vote, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was sworn in as Secretary of Health and Human Services on Thursday afternoon.
"Just as I promised last year, Bobby is going to lead a great national mission to make America healthy again, and he's going to do it. I think he's going to do things that will really make us very proud of this day," President Trump said ahead of the swearing in ceremony. The President also referenced RFK Jr.'s father and his uncle. "Like his father, Senator Robert F. Kennedy, and his uncle President John F. Kennedy, Bobby has devoted much of his life to serving his fellow Americans and his campaign for president—and he was a very tough competitor. I did not like it at all. I said, 'Let's get him on my side.'"
Kennedy's confirmation vote was generally down party lines with Democrats in strong opposition to the nomination; they were joined by Mitch McConnell, the former Republican majority leader, who is notably a polio survivor.
"This Administration – led by the same President who delivered a medical miracle with Project Warp Speed – deserves a leader who is willing to acknowledge without qualification the efficacy of life-saving vaccines and who can demonstrate an understanding of basic elements of the U.S. healthcare system," McConnell said in a statement explaining his opposition to RFK Jr. "Mr. Kennedy failed to prove he is the best possible person to lead America’s largest health agency."
Throughout his presidential campaign, RFK Jr. invoked his family storied position in American history by sharing anecdotes and posting vintage family photos, and he did so again on Thursday, by telling the story of the first time he visited JFK in the Oval Office in 1962. "My first time in this Oval Office was in 1961 and I came here to meet, or 1962, I came here and I had a meeting with my uncle who was president and where we talked about the environment," RFK Jr. said. He also spoke about President Kennedy's efforts to promote physical fitness in American and his 50-mile challenge. That said, RFK Jr. supported Trump's decision to shut down foreign assistance through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which President Kennedy launched in 1961. RFK Jr. described the agency as "sinister."
RFK Jr.'s continued references to the Kennedy political legacy (as well as his controversial, anti-vaccine views) are at the center of an ongoing, public feud between members of his family. Those photographed at the White House ceremony Thursday help make clear which of his relatives align with RFK Jr.
Kennedy's daughter Kick posted photos from inside the Oval Office on social media. Her caption referenced a line from Ralph Waldo Emerson, which her father quoted at the ceremony: "If the single man plants himself indomitably on his instincts, and there abides, this huge world will come around to him."
Other members of the Kennedy family in attendance included RFK Jr.'s wife, actress Cheryl Hines, his nephew Jackson Hines, his daughter-in-law Amaryllis Fox Kennedy and Kick's sister, Kyra. Several members of the Shriver branch of the Kennedy family were also there: Anthony, Carolina, and Joey Shriver.
"I want to thank all of you for your support and throughout this whole two and a half year journey," Kennedy said to his relatives.
Notably, none of RFK Jr.'s siblings were by his side in the Oval Office. Over the years, several of them has spoken out publicly against RFK Jr., his views on vaccines, and his political ambitions.
For example, in 2019, two of his siblings and his niece wrote an article for Politico titled "RFK Jr. Is Our Brother and Uncle. He’s Tragically Wrong About Vaccines,"
"[RFK Jr.] has helped to spread dangerous misinformation over social media and is complicit in sowing distrust of the science behind vaccines," reads the article. Kennedy's views on vaccines made him a controversial pick for HHS Secretary, a position which enormous influence over a number of governmental agencies that impact public health in this country, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration, the National Institutes of Health, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. (While Kennedy has repeatedly said he is not against vaccinations, he has an extensive history of promoting inaccurate anti-vaccine claims.)
During RFK Jr.'s presidential campaign, many members of the broader Kennedy family denounced him and his views. "I have no idea why anyone thinks he should be president," said JFK's grandson Jack Schlossberg in a now-deleted video posted to social media. Schlossberg also accused RFK Jr. of "trading in on Camelot, celebrity, conspiracy theories, and conflict for personal gain and fame."
Several of Kennedy's siblings spoke out when RFK Jr. ended his campaign and threw his support behind Trump. "Our brother Bobby's decision to endorse Trump today is a betrayal of the values that our father and our family hold most dear," reads a statement signed by five of Kennedy's siblings in August of 2024.
More recently, Caroline Kennedy, the only living child of President Kennedy, called RFK Jr. a "predator" in a searing video message calling on senators to reject RFK Jr.'s nomination for HHS secretary.
"He lacks any relevant government, financial, management, or medical experience," Kennedy said. "His views on vaccines are dangerous and willfully misinformed. These facts alone should be disqualifying, but he has personal qualities related to this job, which for me pose even greater concern."
She, too, invoked her family and its legacy in her message. "We are a close family. None of that is easy to say. It also wasn't easy to remain silent last year when Bobby expropriated my father's image and distorted President Kennedy's legacy to advance his own failed campaign and then groveled to Donald Trump for a job. Bobby continues to grandstand off my father's assassination and that of his own father," she said.
"It's incomprehensible to me that someone who is willing to exploit their own painful family tragedies for publicity would be put in charge of America's life and death situations. Unlike Bobby, I try not to speak for my father, but I am certain that he and my uncle Bobby, who gave their lives in public service to our country, and my uncle Teddy, who devoted his long Senate career to the cause of improving healthcare would be disgusted."
Kennedy is also currently at odds with members of his family regarding his views on USAID. Yesterday, Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, the legacy organization named for RFK Jr.'s father and run by his sister Kerry Kennedy, who serves as its president, sent a letter urging congress to support the work of USAID. It reads in part: "We urge you to assert Congress’s constitutional authority and duty to conduct oversight of funding, personnel, and the nation’s foreign policy and to protect the vital work of USAID and other foreign assistance agencies, including programs that Congress has authorized and that government agencies must have capacity to deliver."
Generally speaking, those members of the Kennedy family in opposition to RFK Jr.'s views were quiet on social media yesterday.
When RFK Jr. was asked about immediate plans for HHS following his swearing in, he did not go into specifics; rather, Trump jumped in to say, "He's going to be running it and he's going to do a great job."
"[He's going to] find out a lot of secrets that have been maybe kept from us, but he's going to come up with some solutions to some big, big problems."
Caroline Hallemann
Digital Director
Caroline Hallemann is the Digital Director at Town & Country, where she covers culture, society, and entertainment, as well as the British royal family, among a variety of other topics. Prior to leading the digital team at T&C, she served as the brand's Senior News Editor and Digital News Director, and has previously held positions at Travel + Leisure, DailyCandy, and Parenting Magazine. Caroline is also currently writing a book about the Kennedy family and the British royals, and she lives in Nashville, Tennessee with her husband and their son, Tommy. You can find her on Instagram at the handle @challemann and on TikTok at @carolinehallemann.
