A handful of Senate Democrats are said to be leaving the door open to voting for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to become the next Health and Human Services secretary.
As preparations for confirmation hearings begin to take shape, multiple sources say Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and John Fetterman (D-Pa.), in particular, are at least considering voting for Kennedy, noting shared critiques on heavy corporate influence over food and a desire to promote a less chemical-laden country.
Their perceived openness comes despite a fervent backlash against Kennedy’s nomination from many within the Democratic Party, where his controversial stances on vaccinations still could be a deciding factor for many who see his views as dangerous for public health.
Still, some believe a number of Democrats are signaling they want to give President-elect Trump’s ally and ex-presidential rival a chance to make his case.
“I think Bernie will give him a fair review,” said one source close to the senator’s office.
Lawmakers are notoriously tight-lipped about their votes ahead of many Cabinet fights. The optics of backing any nominee by Trump put most Democrats in a tricky position. And Kennedy in particular makes things more complicated.
Democrats spent a good portion of the election last year trying to avoid the Independent candidate after he changed parties. Those who didn’t ignore him outright tried to stop him from gaining popularity with voters, concerned that any type of third-party support could spell trouble for them in the general election.
When it became obvious his candidacy wouldn’t change the outcome of the race, Democrats followed his moves even less closely — until Trump tapped him to lead HHS, catapulting him back into the spotlight.
Now Democrats are forced to think about him once again. And some appear to be doing so willingly. Sanders has taken steps recently that some allies see as helping him set the stage for offering positive support for Kennedy.
“I definitely think his Senate office will use the opportunity to point out the shortcomings of the industrial food system, supply chains, etc.,” said the source close to Sanders’s team. “I think they’ve been doing a little of that already.”
The Hill has reached out to Sanders’s office for comment.
Sanders penned an op-ed in The Guardian this week outlining proposed reforms to the health care system, which he called “dysfunctional” — extending his standard argument that the current structure favors corporate interests over the wellbeing of sick people.
The Vermont senator argued for across-the-board reform to the food industry, writing: “Large food corporations should not make record-breaking profits making children addicted to processed foods, which make them overweight and prone to diabetes and other diseases.”
His critique echoes what Kennedy has discussed on the campaign trail and as part of his Trump-aligned “Make America Healthy Again” initiative. “As a start, we must ban junk-food ads targeted to kids and put strong warning labels on products high in sugar, salt and saturated fat,” Sanders wrote. “Longer term, we can rebuild rural America with family farms that are producing healthy, nutritious food.”
Kennedy has said much of the same, and has become a popular figure among health conscious voters in Trump’s growing coalition who share his stance on the negative effects of processed foods and additives.
Hoping to further build support, he recently visited Capitol Hill for his health agenda, which he has telegraphed would be central to his approach at HHS. Kennedy met with Republican Sens. John Barrasso (Wyo.), Shelley Moore Capito (W.Va.), and Marsha Blackburn (Tenn.), among others.
His public bids for "yes" votes from GOP senators is an expected part of the rallying process ahead of his hearing in the upper chamber. Kennedy would need the vast majority of Republican votes — all except three — to be confirmed to lead the health department, which also oversees the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
If he convinces just one Democrat to vote for him, he’ll have slightly more breathing room.
Progressive firebrand Nina Turner, a former congressional candidate who’s close to Sanders, speculated it could be either him or Fetterman, who has disavowed the “progressive” label.
“I am no expert on Fetterman, but my sense is that he and [Sanders] will vote for RFK,” Turner said.
Fetterman previously seemed to lean against Kennedy, telling the publication Roll Call in November: “I’m not going to really take any kind of advice [from] a dude that chainsaws whale heads and delivers dead bears into a park.”
But that sentiment could be changing. Some Trump-aligned figures familiar with Kennedy’s movements applaud the Pennsylvania senator’s apparent openness to his ideas.
“Fetterman has impressed me with his willingness to meet with Trump’s nominees without the normal partisan spin and insults attached to the process,” a pro-Kennedy source said. “To me, he’s signaling to MAGA that he’s open to working together on areas that can benefit the people and help everyday people.”
“Fetterman,” the source added, is “definitely a swing vote for all of Trump’s nominees.”
The source also suggested Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), who maintains a healthy lifestyle as a vegan, could be another Democrat to watch. “Booker sounds open to working with Bobby,” the source said, noting they “overlap on many health issues.”
The Hill has contacted Fetterman and Booker’s offices for comment.
Still, most Democrats, including other liberals like Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), are not willing to entertain the idea of Kennedy at the top health agency, with some of his more disputed stances on vaccines causing autism and recent changes in positions on abortion likely to receive further scrutiny in front of the panel.
Even some Republicans have expressed concerns about his stances on specific vaccines and have shared a desire to hear more plans for certain shots, which could impair his nomination in other ways. Kennedy recently clarified he was “all for the polio vaccine” — a point of prior concern — to reporters, an indication that the environmental lawyer is starting to soften his posture, aware of the delicate balance of the Senate makeup.
Another top Democrat, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), called it “outrageous and dangerous for people in the Trump Transition to try and get rid of the polio vaccine” in a post last month on the social platform X.
The vaccine skepticism, which Democrats have escalated post-nomination, could ultimately be what sinks his ascent. It’s an open question whether he’ll be able to convince any members of the opposing party to prioritize his healthy food agenda over the science denial with which they’ve come to think of him.
“Even though they align on their critiques of the corporate food system, Bernie’s commitment to public health will put him at odds with his pronouncements on vaccines,” said the source close to the senator’s office.
