The hearings were packed to capacity with protesters and fans, while the spillover crowd hung out in hallways and overflow rooms.

Facing intense scrutiny from senators over his potential profit from vaccine lawsuits while serving as the nation's health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said that if he is confirmed he will not collect fees from litigation against the drugmakers of a cervical cancer vaccine.

Sanders, the senior minority party member on the committee, pressed Kennedy to concede that health care was a human right, as his father, Robert F. Kennedy, and his uncles, John F. Kennedy and Edward Kennedy, had done. Kennedy again did not give a definitive answer.

WASHINGTON — Caroline Kennedy, the surviving child of the late President John F. Kennedy, is leading the charge against her cousin, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Donald Trump’s pick to serve as secretary of Health and Human Services.

Sen. Bill Cassidy, the top Republican on the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, concluded Thursday's hearing by saying he was "struggling" with the nomination due to Kennedy's vaccine positions. Kennedy notably refused to say vaccines don't cause autism as he faced pointed question from lawmakers.

If approved, Kennedy will control a $1.7 trillion agency that oversees food and hospital inspections, hundreds of health clinics, vaccine recommendations and health insurance for roughly half the country.

Caroline Kennedy labeled her cousin Robert F. Kennedy Jr. a "predator". Here's what other Kennedy family members have said about RFK Jr.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was confronted with a number of his baseless claims and a vexing abortion issue. But Republican senators treaded lightly.

To watch Kennedy's confirmation hearing, viewers can look to the Senate Finance Committee website on Wednesday and the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee website on Thursday. C-SPAN and a plethora of broadcast and cable media outlets will broadcast live what is likely to be a contentious confirmation hearing on television.

WASHINGTON — Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s anti-vaccine advocacy is outside the mainstream. His previous statements on abortion could alienate Republicans. But a new poll finds that not all of his controversial health goals are unpopular — in fact, at least one has broad support among Democrats and Republicans.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Calling Robert F. Kennedy Jr. a “predator” who is addicted to power, Caroline Kennedy urged the U.S. Senate in a Tuesday letter to reject the nomination of her cousin to be President Donald Trump’s health secretary.

President Donald Trump has nominated Kennedy to be the secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Medicare and Medicaid and helps enforce the Affordable Care Act commercial health insurance rules.