Kennedy managed to allay the concerns of several key GOP senators over his anti-vaccine activism. Mitch McConnell was the lone Republican to vote against him.

RFK Jr. has gained a following for his questioning of vaccines. He has vowed to take on the food and drug industries and focus on chronic health conditions.

Kennedy Jr., a vocal vaccine skeptic and activist lawyer, was confirmed Thursday as the nation's new health secretary. The Senate voted largely along party lines to put Kennedy at the helm of the $1.7 trillion U.