WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., praised Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for his beliefs about vaccines and questioned him on the dangers of Red Dye No.3 and the treatment of attention deficit disorders Thursday.
Kennedy appeared before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee as President Donald Trump’s pick to run the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Kennedy is an environmental lawyer who has pushed conspiracy theories and said vaccines cause autism. He ran for president in 2024 as an independent before backing Trump.
Kennedy faced tough questions from Democrats and the committee’s top Republican on his past statements on vaccines. However, Tuberville and other Senate Republicans were friendly in their exchanges with him.
Tuberville commended Kennedy’s views on vaccines and said his family has also had concerns about giving vaccines to children.
“I’ll have my first granddaughter here in a couple of weeks, and my son and his wife have done their research about vaccines,” Tuberville said. “And she’s not going to be a pin cushion. We’re not going to allow that to happen.”
After the hearing, Tuberville posted on X that “vaccines have saved millions of lives,” but he also called out the government for needing to be more transparent about them.
Committee chair Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-LA, a physician, urged the nominee to say that vaccines are safe and do not cause autism. Cassidy is seen as a key vote for Kennedy’s confirmation. As a doctor, Cassidy said he has not seen data that supports a link between vaccines and autism.
“Will you reassure mothers, unequivocally and without qualification, that the measles and hepatitis B vaccines do not cause autism?” Cassidy asked.
Kennedy wouldn’t answer the question directly, but said if he saw evidence that vaccines did not cause autism, he would say so.
Tuberville also asked Kennedy how he would address children and teens receiving Adderall and other prescription drugs to treat attention deficit disorders.
“When you and I were growing up, our parents didn’t use a drug, they used a belt and whipped our butts, you know, and told us to sit down. Nowadays, we give them Adderall and Ritalin like candy across college campuses and high school campuses,” Tuberville said.
Kennedy said there was a “major problem” with over-prescription and called out pharmaceutical companies for pushing prescription drugs.
“We need good science, and we need good leadership. (I’m) able to stand up to these big industries and not bend over for them,” Kennedy said.
Tuberville also brought up Red Dye No.3, a food dye. The FDA banned the dye in food and ingested drugs earlier this month because it caused cancer in rats.
Kennedy said American food has too many ingredients and is loaded with dyes that are harmful. He said he was the right person to lead the agency to tackle those issues.
“We are allowing these companies because (of) their influence over this body, over our regulatory agencies, to mass poison American children,” Kennedy said. “And that’s wrong.”
The health committee will not vote on Kennedy’s nomination. The Senate Finance Committee questioned him during a hearing Wednesday and will vote on his nomination at a later date.
Tuberville spoke on the Senate floor Thursday advocating for the confirmation of Kennedy, Kash Patel for FBI director and Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence.