Kennedy will oversee some of the federal government’s largest public health agencies, including the NIH, FDA, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

Virtually no previous nominee in recent memory to lead the Department of Health and Human Services has gone through such lengths to claim that they would not interfere with the basics of key public health programs in unprecedented ways.

Senate Republicans on Thursday confirmed Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services over the loud objections of Democrats, including both of Washington state's senators.