Top Republican 'struggling' with RFK Jr.'s nomination over Kennedy's vaccine views

GOP Sen. John Cornyn brought up a Department of Homeland Security watchdog report released in August that more than 32,000 unaccompanied migrant children failed to appear for their immigration court hearings, and ICE was "not able to account" for all of their locations.

According to the interim report, from 2019 to 2023 -- a period spanning both the Trump and Biden administrations -- immigration officials transferred more than 448,000 unaccompanied migrant children from ICE custody to HHS.

Kennedy said that Trump was dedicated to finding those minors, claiming some may have been sold into slavery and sex trafficking.

"It is a blight on America's moral authority. And we need to find those kids," he said.

RFK Jr. claimed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended COVID-19 vaccines "without any scientific basis" for children.

The CDC says COVID-19 vaccines for children are safe and that adverse reactions are rare.

Health officials say clinical trials for COVID-19 vaccines involved tens of thousands of people and have since helped save millions of lives.

Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden referenced Kennedy’s petition from 2021 asking the Food and Drug Administration to revoke its authorization of all COVID-19 vaccines. The FDA denied the petition three months later.

Kennedy has said he wants to reduce pesticides and other chemicals as he vows to take on the food industry, sparking some pushback from Republicans and the farming sector.

Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley used the bulk of his time to tell Kennedy to leave agricultural issues to the appropriate agencies.

"I expect you to prioritize rural Americans health care needs on agriculture. In our meeting earlier this month, we talked at length about agriculture," he said. "You prefaced the conversation by saying you will not have jurisdiction over these issues. I expect you to leave agricultural practice regulations to the proper agencies."

Grassley has not yet said if he would support Kennedy's nomination.

Democrat Sen. Ron Wyden and Kennedy got into a heated back-and-forth over the nominee's controversial stances on vaccines.

Wyden brought up Kennedy's publication, "The Measles Book: Thirty-Five Secrets the Government and the Media Aren't Telling You about Measles and the Measles Vaccine," as an example of how he has pushed debunked claims on the vaccines.

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RFK Jr. says he's not anti-vaccine despite past statementsRobert F. Kennedy Jr. sparred with Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden during a hearing in front of the Senate Finance Committee.

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Kennedy, however, said he would not block people from taking the measles and polio vaccines.

"I support the measles vaccine. I support the polio vaccine. I will do nothing as HHS secretary that makes it difficult or discourages people from taking it," Kennedy testified.

Wyden did not appear convinced.

"Anyone who believes ought to look at the measles book you wrote saying parents have bene misled into thinking measles is a deadly disease. That is not true," the senator said.