If confirmed by the Senate, Kennedy would head the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which oversees many of the country’s health agencies, from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The questioning comes after Robert F. Kennedy Jr. faced grueling testimony on Thursday to secure the Secretary of Health and Human Services position

If approved, Kennedy will control a $1.7 trillion agency that oversees food and hospital inspections, hundreds of health clinics, vaccine recommendations and health insurance for roughly half the country.

RFK Jr. claimed he is not “anti-vaccine” and appeared unfamiliar with key aspects of healthcare insurance programs in his confirmation hearing.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was confronted with a number of his baseless claims and a vexing abortion issue. But Republican senators treaded lightly.

To get to the US Senate for a vote on his nomination to be US health secretary, Mr Kennedy needs to have two committee hearings.

The hearings were packed to capacity with protesters and fans, while the spillover crowd hung out in hallways and overflow rooms.

The man who hopes to be President Donald Trump’s health secretary says he needs to see data showing vaccines are safe, but he dismissed the evidence shown by an influential Republican senator.

In one of the most tense exchanges in a heated confirmation hearing, Senator Angela Alsobrooks called out past comments RFK Jr. made suggesting a different vaccine schedule for Black people.