To get to the US Senate for a vote on his nomination to be US health secretary, Mr Kennedy needs to have two committee hearings.

If approved, Kennedy will control a $1.7 trillion agency that oversees food and hospital inspections, hundreds of health clinics, vaccine recommendations and health insurance for roughly half the country.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. cleared a crucial hurdle for confirmation as Health and Human Services secretary. Here's what happens next in the Senate

In a starkly partisan vote, the Republican-controlled Senate Finance Committee advanced Kennedy’s nomination 14-13, sending his bid to oversee the $1.7 trillion U.S. Health and Human Services agency for a full vote on the Senate floor.