RFK Jr.’s nomination gets a boost after Sen. Susan Collins says she will vote to confirm

President Donald Trump’s nomination for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to head up the Health and Human Services Department got a boost after Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine said she would vote to confirm him.

Collins is considered a critical swing vote that Democrats hoped to persuade against the Trump pick. She had also come out against Pete Hegseth, who was confirmed to lead the Defense Department despite her opposition.

‘He has promised that as soon as he is confirmed, he will re-examine this initiative that was implemented prior to his confirmation.’

She told CNN’s Manu Raju that she would support Kennedy on Monday after he reassured her that they would look at White House cuts to the National Institutes of Health.

“He seemed to understand the concerns that I was raising about what it would mean for more very important ongoing biomedical research including clinical trials,” she was quoted as saying.

Earlier in the day, Collins said she objected to “arbitrary” cuts to the NIH budget that would be “devastating” to critical research initiatives.

“This morning, I called Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., the nominee to head the Department of Health and Human Services, to express my strong opposition to these arbitrary cuts in funding for vital research at our Maine institutions, which are known for their excellence,” she said. “He has promised that as soon as he is confirmed, he will re-examine this initiative that was implemented prior to his confirmation.”

Critics opposed to Kennedy’s nomination have pointed to his past comments opposing vaccines and trying to link them to the rise in autism diagnoses. His defenders say he will help dismantle undue influence on politicians from pharmaceutical and food processing corporations.

Democrats had also hoped to get Collins to oppose the nomination of Tulsi Gabbard for director of national intelligence, but she eventually said Gabbard had agreed that the size of the office needed to be reduced.

Kennedy only needs a majority of votes in the Senate to be confirmed. Republicans have a slim majority and a tie would be decided by Vice President JD Vance.

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