HHS nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told Senator Ron Wyden he is "not anti-vaccine" in his confirmation hearing.

Senator Bernie Sanders, Independent of Vermont, brought up the Children’s Health Defense, which is the organization Mr. Kennedy co-founded that has spread falsehoods about vaccinations for children, pulling up images of onesies sold by the nonprofit that read “Unvaxxed, Unafraid” and “No Vax, No Problem.”

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. faced about 3.5 hours of questioning on topics including his past comments on vaccines and abortion during the first of his two confirmation hearings.

Kennedy Jr. scrapped with senators for more than four hours Wednesday, trying to defend everything from his “conflicting” claims on vaccines to his stance on abortion to past statements that the virus causing COVID-19 was “ethnically targeted” against black and Caucasian people.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Confirmation Hearing at the Senate Financial Services Committee. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) questions President Trump's nominee for HHS Secretary RFK Jr. over past vaccine statements.

During his Senate confirmation hearing, Kennedy claimed he is not against vaccination, contrary to decades of public comments.

HHS Secretary nominee RFK Jr. and Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden were involved in a heated exchange about Kennedy's past comments during his confirmation hearing on Wednesday.

Over rigorous questioning from senators Wednesday, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. laid out his vision to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, while backtracking on his past statements in support of abortion and against vaccines.

Over many years, Kennedy has been clear about his beliefs on vaccines in dozens of interviews, podcasts and social media posts.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. worked strenuously Wednesday to clarify his views on vaccines after a top Democrat challenged him on past statements and actions that seemed to suggest he was a blanket opponent of shots.

Robert F. Kennedy's nomination will put Republican lawmakers' loyalty to the test, as the former Democrat holds a range of unorthodox positions that could alienate both conservatives and liberals.

Senators challenged Kennedy, who was nominated as health secretary by President Trump, on his long track record of questioning vaccines.