WASHINGTON D.C., DC — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. faced his first Senate confirmation hearing on Tuesday to potentially be confirmed as Donald Trump’s nominee for the next Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary.
RFK Jr. answered questions from senators on a variety of topics, ranging from vaccines, abortion and medicine.
Many noticed – and wondered why – his voice sounded raspy and what sounded like he had difficulty speaking or getting words out. It’s because he has a rare vocal disorder.
Why does RFK Jr. sound like that? What’s wrong with RFK Jr.’s voice?
RFK Jr. has a disorder called spasmodic dysphonia – a spasm of the vocal muscles. Approximately 50,000 people in North America suffer from the neurological speech disorder.
He has openly talked about his voice disorder and said he was diagnosed with it in 1996. During a town hall with NewsNation in 2023, he said “I had a very very strong voice until I was 46 years old. It was unusually strong.”
“[Spasmodic dysphonia] makes my voice tremble. At the time, I didn’t know what was wrong with it. But when I would go on TV, people would write me letters and say, ‘You have spasmodic dysphonia’,” Kennedy continued.
RFK Jr. is the nephew of former President John F. Kennedy and son of Senator Robert F. Kennedy. He is married to actress Cheryl Hines and cousin to Caroline Kennedy.
Kennedy’s second hearing will take place at 9 a.m. CT on Thursday, Jan. 30, before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. You can watch Wednesday’s confirmation hearing proceedings here: