Sanders, RFK Jr. clash over climate change at hearing

By Ariel Wittenberg | 01/30/2025 06:34 AM EST

During his confirmation hearing for HHS secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. leaned in on his environmental credentials but refused to denounce President Donald Trump for calling climate change a hoax.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaking.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Donald Trump's nominee for secretary of Health and Human Services, on Wednesday during his first of two confirmation hearings. Francis Chung/POLITICO

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. got his start as an environmental attorney, but at a confirmation hearing Wednesday, Kennedy declined to denounce comments by President Donald Trump calling climate change a hoax.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) sparred with Kennedy over global warming during the Senate Finance Committee hearing on Kennedy’s appointment to lead the Department for Health and Human Services.

“I happen to believe that climate change is real, it’s an existential threat, and it is a health care issue,” Sanders said. “Donald Trump thinks that it is a hoax originating in China. Question is, in your judgment, is climate change a hoax, or is it real, causing devastating problems?”

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Kennedy responded that he and Trump have “agreed to disagree” on the issue.

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