Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Confirmed as HHS Secretary

Robert F. Kennedy was confirmed in a 52-48 Senate vote as the head of the Department of Health and Human Services on Thursday following a round of fiery committee hearings.

A controversial nominee, Kennedy has been criticized over a number of his positions, including his vaccine skepticism.

Democrats were railing against the once-presidential hopeful late into the night on Wednesday. Kennedy has sold himself and his views as part of a “Make America Healthy Again” campaign, a play on Trump’s Make America Great Again movement.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) condemned Kennedy, calling him the least qualified person to be nominated by the president.

“Robert F. Kennedy might be the least qualified people the president could have chosen for the job. It’s almost as if Mr. Kennedy’s beliefs, history and background were tailor-made to be the exact opposite of what the job demands,” said Schumer.

Kennedy has faced bipartisan pushback over his views, including from Republicans like Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY). McConnell was nevertheless the only Republican to oppose Kennedy’s nomination during Thursday’s vote. He was the only Republican to end up voting against Kennedy.

Kennedy’s confirmation follows Tulsi Gabbard’s confirmation as director of national intelligence earlier this week.

Schumer railed against both Kennedy and Gabbard on Wednesday, claiming Republicans are “rubber stamping” Trump’s nominees.

“If Mr. Kennedy is confirmed given that lack of background, I deeply fear that he will rubber stamp Donald Trump’s war against healthcare, meaning we will see more of the disastrous funding cuts of the last few weeks, meaning that more people will lose health coverage, meaning that the interests of for-profit corporations and Big Pharma will come before the needs of working Americans,” he said.

Watch above via CNN.