Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., was blasted by conservatives on social media on Wednesday over his contentious line of questioning toward President Donald Trump’s Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary nominee, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
“Frankly, you frighten people,” Whitehouse told Kennedy while seemingly linking Kennedy’s skepticism of some vaccines to the first case of measles in Rhode Island since 2013.
“Americans are going to need to hear a clear and trustworthy recantation of what you have said on vaccinations, including a promise from you never to say vaccines aren’t medically safe when they, in fact, are, and making indisputably clear that you support mandatory vaccinations against diseases where that will keep people safe,” Whitehouse said. “You’re in that hole pretty deep.”
Whitehouse, who attended law school with Kennedy where the two were friends, used the majority of his time to list concerns about Kennedy, allowing the HHS hopeful a small window at the end to address the line of questioning.
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Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, left, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (Getty)
Whitehouse’s comments quickly drew criticism from conservatives on social media.
“Sen. Whitehouse (D-RI) beginning his confirmation ‘questioning’ of RFK Jr. by saying ‘I’m very experienced, so you’re just going to have to listen,’ then talking for 7 minutes nonstop is such a perfect picture of why Democrats are failing around the nation right now,” Daily Signal columnist Tony Kinnett posted on X.
“You know what would be good?” columnist John Podhortez posted on X. “Sheldon Whitehouse going away forever to an island. And not Rhode Island, which isn’t an island. More like St. Helena.”
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Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., leaves the Senate Democrats’ lunch in the Capitol on Tuesday, June 13, 2023. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
“Whitehouse delivers a droning monologue then tells RFK he’s out of time, can respond in writing,” National Review senior writer Dan McLaughlin posted on X.
“What a jacka–,” Twitchy.com editor Samantha Janney posted on X. “RFK Jr. should ask Sheldon about his membership at multiple whites-only clubs.”
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Secretary of Health and Human Services nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testifies during a Senate Finance Committee hearing on his nomination to be Health and Human Services Secretary, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 29, 2025. (Getty)
Fox News Digital reached out to Whitehouse’s office for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
Opposition to Kennedy’s nomination has been fierce, with advocacy groups running ad campaigns urging senators to vote against his confirmation mainly due to his past skepticism of some vaccines.
“I want to make sure the Committee is clear about a few things. News reports have claimed that I am anti-vaccine or anti-industry. Well, I am neither; I am pro-safety,” Kennedy said in his opening statement in front of the Senate Finance Committee.
