Full List of Senators Who Voted to Confirm RFK. Jr As Next Health Secretary

The Senate confirmed on Thursday Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK Jr.) as Secretary of Health and Human services, clearing one of President Donald Trump's most contentious nominees.

The Senate voted mostly along party lines to confirm him, the final tally being 52-48. Former Majority leader Mitch McConnell was again the lone Republican holdout, making it the third time he voted against a Trump nominee (Pete Hegseth and Tulsi Gabbard being the others). McConnell, who survived polio as a child, had expressed concern about RFK Jr, even writing a letter in December advising anyone seeking Senate confirmation to avoid "efforts to undermine public confidence in vaccines).

The 71-year-old former environmental lawyer will take the helm of a department overseeing more than 80,000 employees and a $1.7 trillion budget. A vaccine skeptic, he will control more than 18 federal agencies and oversee an $8 billion children's vaccine fund in that role.

Critics have labeled him dangerously unqualified, citing his promotion of debunked claims linking measles vaccines to autism, his suggestion that HIV does not cause AIDS, his financial interests in law firms suing pharmaceutical companies, and more.

Kennedy's nomination narrowly made it to the floor after the Senate Finance Committee voted 14-13 to approve of him. The vote came down to Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy.

Cassidy, a physician, had said he was conflicted about Kennedy because of his views on vaccines. He ended up voting in favor of advancing Kennedy's nomination on the Senate floor as well and, along with Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, said RFK Jr. reassured him that he wouldn't use his post to spread anti-vaccine rhetoric. All Democrats voted against the nomination.

Democrats have also made reference to misconduct allegations, Kennedy's suggestion that Covid-19 was designed to spare Jews, his linking of school shootings to anti-depressants and bizarre incidents involving dead animals.

Kennedy's cousin, former US Ambassador Caroline Kennedy, issued in late January a scathing tell-all of RFK Jr., posting a series of Instagram videos where she called him a "predator" unfit to oversee critical health agencies like the CDC and FDA.

"Bobby himself is a predator," Kennedy said in the video. "He's always been charismatic, able to attract others through the strength of his personality, his willingness to take risks, and break the rules ... It's no surprise that he keeps birds of prey as pets."

Last year 77 Nobel prize winners sent an open letter to the Senate opposing his nomination and warning he could place the public's health "in jeopardy."

Here's the full list of senators who voted to confirm RFK Jr. as the next HHS Secretary:

Britt, Katie
Tuberville, Tommy
Murkowski, Lisa 5
Sullivan, Dan
Boozman, John
Cotton, Tom
Moody, Ahsley
Scott, Rick
Crapo, Mike
Risch, James
Young, Todd
Ernst, Joni
Grassley, Chuck
Marshall, Roger
Moran, Jerry
Paul, Rand
Cassidy, Bill
Kennedy, John
Collins, Susan
Hyde-Smith, Cindy
Wicker, Roger
Hawley, Josh
Schmitt, Eric
Daines, Steve Montana
Sheehy, Tim Montana
Fischer, Deb Nebraska
Ricketts, Pete
Budd, Ted
Tillis, Thom
Cramer, Kevin
Hoeven, John
Husted, Jon
Moreno, Bernie
McCormick, David
Graham, Lindsey
Scott, Tim
Rounds, Mike
Thune, John
Blackburn, Marsha
Hagerty, Bill
Cornyn, John
Cruz, Ted
Curtis, John R.
Lee, Mike
Capito, Shelley Moore
Justice, James C.
Johnson, Ron Wisconsin
Barrasso, John Wyoming
Lummis, Cynthia M.