ROBERT F. Kennedy Jr. has scoffed at Democrats who said his radical healthcare views “frighten people” and vowed to lead the Department of Health & Human Services with transparency.

Kennedy Jr. engaged in a series of fiery clashes with Democratic members on the Senate Finance Committee, who grilled him on his controversial stance on vaccine safety, chronic disease issues, and processed foods.

Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse, a senator of Rhode Island, a state that recently had a measles outbreak, pressed Kennedy Jr. to promise to “never say vaccines aren’t medically safe.”

“Americans are going to need to hear a clear and trustworthy recantation of what you have said on vaccinations – including a promise from you never to say vaccines aren’t medically safe when they in fact, are,” Whitehouse told his old law school roommate.

“Frankly, you frighten people,” the senator said of Kennedy Jr.’s repeated statements opposing vaccine mandates.

‘MORAL ISSUE’

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo, a Republican senator of Idaho, opened his questioning by asking Kennedy Jr. why he is so “passionate about nutrition-oriented disease prevention.”

“I share your interest in the relationship between our diet and our well-being,” Crapo said.

Kennedy Jr. replied by saying driving down rates of chronic disease is a “spiritual issue and a moral one.”

The former Independent presidential candidate, 71, said that processed foods were driving the chronic disease epidemic.

“We’re writing off an entire generation of kids,” Kennedy Jr. declared.

“I don’t want to take food away from anybody.

“If you like McDonald’s cheeseburger and a diet coke, which my boss loves, you should be able to get them, but you should know what the impacts are on your health.”

For years, news outlets and campaign photos have documented President Donald Trump affection with fast-food, particularly McDonald’s.

The Washington Post reported in 2017 that Trump’s preferred dinner are Filet-O-Fish sandwiches, Big Macs and a Diet Coke.

“The Quarter Pounder. It’s great stuff,” Trump told CNN during the 2016 campaign trail.

The president drinks about 12 cans of Diet Coke a day, according to The New York Times.

Trump even reinstalled a Diet Coke button on the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office to swiftly deliver him the soft drink.

During the 2024 presidential campaign, Trump held a campaign event at a McDonald’s restaurant in Pennsylvania, dishing out french fries and working the drive-thru.

In November, he shared a McDonald’s meal on his Trump Force One with tech billionaire Elon Musk, son Donald Trump Jr., Kennedy Jr., and House Speaker Mike Johnson.

Kennedy Jr. has previously criticized Trump’s love of fast food.

“The stuff that he eats is really, like bad,” he said during an interview on The Joe Polish Show in November.

“Campaign food is always bad, but the food that goes onto that airplane is like just poison.

“You have a choice between – you don’t have a choice, you’re either given KFC or Big Macs.”

MEDICAID CLASH

Meanwhile, not all Republicans were sentimental to Kennedy Jr., who was being shredded by Democratic lawmakers.

Senator Bill Cassidy from Louisiana, who is skeptical about Kennedy Jr.’s nomination, quizzed him about how he would oversee Medicare and Medicaid.

When asked about his plans to reform Medicaid, Kennedy Jr. said he did not have a comprehensive plan to dismantle the program, which millions of low-income Americans rely on.

The Department of Health & Human Services oversees 13 health sectors that administer service and conduct research.

The executive branch department takes up over 20 percent of the US federal budget, which includes over $2 trillion in available funds, according to USASpending.gov.

Kennedy Jr. hit back at Democrats who chuckled when he said a large number of Americans disapprove of the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid.

“Americans, by and large, do not like the Affordable Care Act. People are on it, they don’t like Medicaid. They like Medicare,” he said.

“They like private insurance. They would prefer to be on private insurance, most Americans, if they could afford to be, would be on private insurance.

“We need to figure out ways to improve care, particularly for elderly, for veterans, for the poor in this country, and Medicaid, the current model, is not doing that.

“I would ask any of the Democrats who are chuckling just now, do you think all that money the $900 billion that we’re sending to Medicaid every year has made Americans healthy?

“Do we think it’s working for anybody? Are the premiums low enough?”

Kennedy Jr.’s remarks received some applause from members of the audience in the gallery.

‘I’M PRO-SAFETY’

During his opening remarks, Kennedy Jr. attempted to refute news reports that claimed he is anti-vaccine and anti-industry, affirming he was neither.

However, his sentiment was met with contest when a woman in the back of the gallery, wearing blue scrubs, shouted “You lie!”

Several attendees in the room began clapping before Senate Finance Committee Chairman Crapo called for order.

Kennedy Jr. continued after the brief pause arguing he is pro-safety.

“I am pro-safety. I have worked for years to raise awareness about mercury and toxic chemicals in fish and nobody called me anti-fish,” he added.

Democratic Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon aggressively questioned Kennedy Jr. about his comments in a 2023 podcast where he stated, “No vaccine is safe and effective.”

“Mr. Kennedy, all of these things cannot be true. Are you lying to Congress today, when you say you are pro-vaccine, or did you lie on all those podcasts,” Wyden asked.

“Every medicine has people who are sensitive to them, including vaccines,” Kennedy Jr. responded.

“I support the measles vaccine. I support the polio vaccine. I will do nothing as HHS Secretary that makes it difficult or discourages people from taking anything.”

As Wyden and Kennedy Jr. were engaged in a heated exchange on vaccine safety, another demonstrator, wearing blue scrubs and a surgical mask, interrupted and was forced out of the room by Capitol police.

The woman was holding a sign that read, “Vaccines save lives. No RFK Jr.”

Chairman Crapo warned the audience that he will suspend the hearing if there were any further disruptions.

“Comments from the audience are inappropriate and out of order, and if there are any further disruptions, the committee will recess until the police can restore order,” Crapo added.

In further remarks, Wyden slammed Kennedy Jr.’s nomination, saying “I’ve reached the conclusion that he should not be entrusted with the health of the American people.”

‘DESERVED TO BE CONFIRMED’

At the conclusion of his hearing, Chairman Crapo told Kennedy he had “done well” despite him going through the “most thorough vetting process.”

“I want to thank you for appearing before this committee,” Crapo said.

“You have been accessible to the members and staff on both sides of the aisle of the Finance Committee throughout a rigorous process.

“I want the whole world to know that you spent hours in meetings, answering questions outside of this hearing and providing documents, and responses on issues after issues.

“You’ve gone through the most thorough vetting process that any committee in this Congress puts anybody through, and I think that you have come through well and deserved to be confirmed.”

Crapo concluded, “Mr. Kennedy, I look forward to working with you.”