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RFK Jr. made promises to get his job as health secretary. He's broken many of them

By NPR.org  
   February 13, 2026

One year after taking charge of the nation's health department, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. hasn't held true to many of the promises he made while appealing to U.S. senators concerned about the longtime anti-vaccine activist's plans for the nation's care. Kennedy squeaked through a narrow Senate vote to be confirmed as head of the Department of Health and Human Services only after making a number of public and private guarantees about how he would handle vaccine funding and recommendations as secretary. Here's a look at some of the promises Kennedy made during his confirmation process.

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