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Sen. Whitehouse says people need to 'chill' with speculating over his RFK Jr. vote

NORTH KINGSTOWN, R.I. (WPRI) -- U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse on Monday downplayed speculation that he could break with his party to support Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s nomination as health and human services secretary.

Typically a staunch foe of President Donald Trump's policies, Whitehouse has repeatedly stopped short of saying which way he plans to vote for the nominee, fueling concerns within the Democratic Party he might choose to support the Republican president's controversial pick.

"I have not been inclined to telegraph my votes before someone has even had his hearing, so I think people need to kind of chill on that for a bit," Whitehouse told local reporters after an event in North Kingstown. "Let him have his hearing and then we'll go forward."

Whitehouse is a member of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee, which has scheduled a hearing for RFK's nomination for Wednesday. Whitehouse also has a long personal history with RFK, who's the son of U.S. Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, dating back to their days as law students at the University of Virginia.

In 1998, The Providence Journal reported that Whitehouse and Kennedy hiked and hunted in the woods around Charlottesville, Virginia, while in law school.

"Kennedy half-kiddingly says he failed his first bar exam because Whitehouse persuaded him to take a four-day whitewater rafting trip in West Virginia when he should have been studying,” the paper reported.

Whitehouse said Monday he also once lived with RFK's brother, the late Michael Kennedy, but that he hasn't been in touch with RFK "for a long time." The senator said he wants to hear the nominee answer questions on his anti-vaccine activism, which has included repeated false claims linking vaccines to autism.

"There's a lot of anti-vax nonsense that needs to be corrected, and then there's some very specific things that Rhode Island needs that I want to make sure don't get overlooked in the Trump administration," Whitehouse said.

RFK is widely viewed as one of President Trump's most controversial and vulnerable nominations, alongside Tulsi Gabbard, Trump's pick for director of national intelligence. RFK will need to clear the Senate Finance Committee and then garner 50 votes from the full Senate to secure his position as health secretary.

Republicans so far have successfully rallied support behind Trump's cabinet picks, although Vice President JD Vance was required to cast a tie-breaking vote to secure the confirmation of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Friday night.

If confirmed, RFK would oversee 18 agencies that regularly interact with state and local governments, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration, the National Institutes of Health, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

"I can ensure everyone that I will vote in the way that's best for Rhode Island," Whitehouse said Monday, before walking away as reporters tried to ask additional questions.

Eli Sherman (esherman@wpri.com) is a Target 12 investigative reporter for 12 News. Connect with him on Twitter and on Facebook.

Ted Nesi and Shiina LoSciuto contributed to this report.


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