00:00Chairman Crapo, Ranking Member Wyden, and members of this distinguished committee, I'm
00:07humbled to be sitting here today as President Trump's nominee to oversee the U.S. Department
00:13of Health and Human Services.
00:16I want to thank President Trump for entrusting me to deliver on his promise to make America
00:22healthy again.
00:24I also want to thank Cheryl, and Kik, and Bobby, and all of my other children who are
00:30here today, and all the many members of my large extended family for the love that they
00:36have so generously shared.
00:40Ours has always been a family that has been involved in public service, and I look forward
00:46to continuing that tradition.
00:48Before I conclude, I want to make sure the committee is clear about a few things.
00:53News reports have claimed that I am anti-vaccine or anti-industry.
00:57I am neither.
00:59I am pro-safety.
01:00We'll have an order.
01:16Please proceed, Mr. Kennedy.
01:17I am pro-safety.
01:19I worked for years to raise awareness about the mercury and toxic chemicals in fish, and
01:25nobody called me anti-fish.
01:29And I believe that vaccines play a critical role in health care.
01:36All of my kids are vaccinated.
01:38I've written many books on vaccines.
01:40My first book in 2014, the first line of it is, I am not anti-vaccine, and the last line
01:47is, I am not anti-vaccine.
01:50Or am I the enemy of food producers, American farms, and the bedrock of our culture, of
01:55our politics, of our national security?
01:57Mr. Kennedy, all of these things cannot be true.
02:04So are you lying to Congress today when you say you are pro-vaccine, or did you lie on
02:11all those podcasts?
02:12He asked me, are there vaccines that are safe and effective, and I said to him, some of
02:17the live virus vaccines are.
02:19And I said, there are no vaccines that are safe and effective, and I was going to continue
02:24for every person.
02:26Every medicine has people who are sensitive to them, including vaccines.
02:32He interrupted me at that point.
02:34I've corrected it many times, including on national TV.
02:37You know about this, Senator Wyden, so bringing this up right now is dishonest.
02:42Let's be clear about what you've actually done then, since you want to deny your statements.
02:49For example, you have a history of trying to take vaccines away from people.
02:55In May of 2021, you petitioned the Food and Drug Administration to not only block Americans
03:02from having access to the COVID vaccine, but to prevent any future access to the life-saving
03:10vaccine.
03:11Are you denying that?
03:12He's on the petition.
03:14We brought that petition after CDC recommended a COVID vaccine without any scientific basis
03:25for six-year-old children.
03:28Most experts agree today, even the people who did it back then, that COVID vaccines
03:34are inappropriate for six-year-old children who basically have a zero risk from COVID.
03:40That's why I brought that lawsuit.
03:42I don't want to—
03:43Mr. Kennedy, the facts—
03:46The nominee wrote a book saying that people had been misled into believing that measles
04:03is a deadly disease.
04:05He's trying now to play down his role in Samoa.
04:08That's not what the parents say.
04:09That's not what Governor Greene says.
04:11It's time to make sure that we blow the whistle on actually what your views are.
04:15At least we're starting.
04:17We need to move on.
04:18Senator, I support the measles vaccine.
04:20I support the polio vaccine.
04:21I will do nothing as HHS secretary that makes it difficult or discourages people from taking
04:28either of those vaccines.
04:29Anybody who believes that ought to look at the measles book you wrote saying parents
04:33have been misled into believing that measles is a deadly disease.
04:37That's not true.
04:38So I'm asking you yes or no, Mr. Kennedy.
04:41Did you say that COVID-19 was a genetically engineered bioweapon that targets black and
04:47white people but spared Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese people?
04:53I didn't say it was deliberately targeted.
04:56I just quoted an NIH-funded, an NIH-published study.
05:03Did you say that it targets black and white people but spared Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese
05:07people?
05:08I quoted an NIH-funded study that showed that certain races are disproportionate.
05:15I have to move on.
05:16Did you say that Lyme disease is highly likely a materially engineered bioweapon?
05:24I made sure I put in the highly likely.
05:27Did you say Lyme disease is a highly likely militarily engineered bioweapon?
05:33I probably did say that.
05:34Did you say that?
05:36I want all of our colleagues to hear it, Mr. Kennedy.
05:41I want them to hear it.
05:42You said yes.
05:43Did you say that exposure to pesticides causes children to become transgender?
05:49No, I never said that.
05:50Okay, I have the record that I'll give to the chairman and he can make his judgment
05:55about what you said.
05:56Did you write in your book, and it's undeniable, that African Aids is an entirely different
06:04disease from Western Aids?
06:07Yes or no, Mr. Kennedy?
06:08I'm not sure if I made that.
06:10I'll give it to the chairman, Mr. Kennedy, and my final question.
06:14Did you say on a podcast, and I quote, I wouldn't leave it, abortion, to the states.
06:21My belief is we should leave it to the woman.
06:24We shouldn't have the government involved even if it's full term.
06:28Did you say that, Mr. Kennedy?
06:30Senator, I believe every abortion is a tragedy.
06:33Why did you say it, Mr. Kennedy?
06:35This matters.
06:37It doesn't matter what you come here and say that isn't true, that's not reflective of
06:42what you really believe, that you haven't said over decade after decade after decade.
06:47Because unlike other jobs we're confirming around this place, this is a job where it
06:52is life and death for the kids that I used to work for in the Denver Public Schools and
06:57for families all over this country that are suffering from living in the richest country
07:03in the world that can't deliver basic health care and basic mental health care to them.
07:10It's too important for the games that you're playing, Mr. Kennedy.
07:14And I hope my colleagues will say to the president, I have no influence over him.
07:19I hope my colleagues will say to the president, out of 330 million Americans, we can do better
07:26than this.
07:28We need to move on.
07:29But you also said we need to trust the women to make that choice, because I don't trust
07:34government to make any choices.
07:36You said that too, right?
07:38Yes.
07:39It is remarkable that you have such a long record of fighting for women's reproductive
07:43freedom, and really great that my Republican colleagues are so open to voting for a pro-choice
07:48HHS secretary.
07:51So Mr. Kennedy, I'm confused.
07:53You have clearly stated in the past that bodily autonomy is one of your core values.
07:58The question is, do you stand for that value or not?
08:02When was it that you decided to sell out the values you've had your whole life in order
08:07to be given power by President Trump?
08:09Senator, I agree with President Trump that every abortion is a tragedy, that we can't
08:15be a moral authority in this country.
08:16Right.
08:17But that isn't what you said back in New Hampshire in 2023.
08:21My question is exactly when did you decide to sell out your life's work and values to
08:26get this position?
08:27Senator, I agree with President Trump that every abortion is a tragedy.
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