PoliticsWednesday 01.29.25

Roll the tape: RFK Jr. tries to distance himself from or deny his previous views in contentious confirmation hearing.

Trump HHS secretary nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Wednesday tried to distance himself from his past statements on vaccine skepticism, abortions, and other health issues during a contentious Senate confirmation hearing.

"I support the polio vaccine," RFK Jr. told members of the Senate Finance Committee.

However, RFK Jr. previously touted misinformation, drawing skepticism about the polio vaccine during a July 2023 spot on the "Lex Fridman Podcast."

"The polio vaccine contained a virus called Simian Virus 40, SV40," the HHS secretary nominee said during that interview. "It’s one of the most carcinogenic materials that is known to man."

"And now you’ve had this explosion of soft tissue cancers in our generation that kill many, many, many, many, many more people than polio ever did," RFK Jr. continued.

While the first polio vaccine did contain Simian Virus 40, which has been linked to tumor growth, future batches were screened to not contain SV40. Many studies, which followed individuals who received the original polio vaccine, showed no increase in cancer cases linked to the vaccine.

In a tense line of questioning from Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO), RFK Jr. denied that he said exposure to pesticides cause children to become transgender. On Jordan Peterson's podcast, RFK Jr. said that children are “swimming through a soup of toxic chemicals" and falsely suggested that chemical exposures could be causing "sexual dysphoria."

RFK Jr. also shifted his position on abortions. He previously advocated for women to have a choice on reproductive decisions. But, on Wednesday, Kennedy conceded that he agrees with President Donald Trump that states should regulate and "control" abortions.

Recount Wire

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