He won a seat in the U.S. Senate in 1953 with a victory over incumbent Senator Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. Kennedy served in the Senate until 1961, working on various committees. He did not come out strongly against controversial Republican Senator Joseph McCarthy, who went overboard in his condemnation of Communists. It is speculated that Kennedy did not denounce McCarthy because he was a friend of the Kennedy family and Robert Kennedy had worked on his staff.