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.

Kennedy's condition is called spasmodic dysphonia, which is a neurologic disorder that can affect the voice and speech by causing the muscles that generate a person’s voice to go into periods of spasm, according to Penn Medicine. It is a lifelong condition, but can be improved with treatment in some cases, according to Penn Medicine.

One of the hottest topics in the coverage of his confirmation hearing was RFK Jr.'s unusually gruff speaking voice. But the raspy sound to his voice is not the result of an infection or respiratory condition;