The Associated Press, by Stephen Groves and Amanda Seitz
Washington After a prominent Republican joined Democrats in voicing ongoing worries about the nominee’s profound mistrust of routine childhood immunizations that prevent lethal diseases, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s candidacy as the country’s top health officer is in doubt.
After a three-hour confirmation hearing Thursday, Louisiana Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy told Kennedy that he was having trouble with his candidacy and might give him a call over the weekend, but he did not specify how he would vote.
A liver specialist who has frequently urged his people to get vaccinated against COVID-19 and other illnesses, Cassidy repeatedly pleaded with Kennedy to deny claims that vaccines cause illnesses like autism. Cassidy was obviously upset by Kennedy’s refusal to do so.
According to Cassidy, another person will pass away from a sickness that can be prevented by vaccinations if there is any misleading information or if a mother’s faith in them is undermined.
The senator, who is running for reelection next year, outlined the conundrum facing him as a Republican who wants to assist President Donald Trump in advancing his ideas and as a physician who has witnessed the life-saving power of vaccines. Cassidy, who voted to convict Trump on impeachment charges following his first term in 2021, is no stranger to these situations and the uproar they may cause.
Kennedy’s views on vaccines have undoubtedly hurt his chances of winning any support from Democrats in his attempt to become health secretary, and they may risk his status with some important Republicans. Kennedy can only afford to lose three Republican votes if his nomination is rejected by every Democrat.
Sens. Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, and Mitch McConnell, who have expressed reservations about Kennedy and voted against Trump’s choice for defense secretary, will also be swing votes that Kennedy must win.
Trump will exert as much pressure as possible on any Republican who is thinking about abstaining from voting to align and validate his candidates. Trump’s backers have launched a concerted campaign of political threats against those who have voiced reluctance to back nominees. Additionally, supporters of Kennedy’s Make America Healthy Again initiative have been urged to flood senators’ phone lines and inboxes with messages in case they waver.
Kennedy represents a new alliance formed by Trump’s campaign, as do other Cabinet nominees like Tulsi Gabbard. Kennedy started his own presidential campaign last year before partnering with Trump in their mutual goal of overthrowing the current system.
Kennedy, a former environmental lawyer who now opposes public health, has made numerous assurances to senators that he is in favor of vaccinations and is not anti-vaccine. However, the Senate Health Committee’s queries on Thursday revealed Kennedy’s long-standing skepticism about the country’s vaccination program.
At a Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions hearing on Capitol Hill on Thursday, January 30, 2025, in Washington, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks during the confirmation hearing for President Trump’s nominee to be Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. (Photo by Rod Lamkey, Jr., AP)AP
Kennedy was asked directly by Cassidy if he would firmly tell parents that the measles and hepatitis B immunizations do not cause autism.
Kennedy refused. He said, “If the data is there, I will absolutely do that,” avoiding a straight response.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont, followed up on Cassidy’s line of inquiry in a rare instance of cross-party cooperation. Kennedy once more declined to provide a firm response.
Cassidy then urged Kennedy to embrace the findings in the closing minutes of the session by presenting him with papers that demonstrated vaccines do not cause autism. Instead, Kennedy replied with an article that Cassidy said had problems.
Cassidy informed him that it would have a profound effect to state unequivocally that vaccines do not cause autism. The impact would be amazing. That is your strength.
Other senators’ questions were sometimes very personal. New Hampshire Democrat Sen. Maggie Hassan expressed her distress as a mother who has been wondering for decades what caused her son’s cerebral palsy at age 36. She was concerned about if immunizations were a factor in her son’s illness following a controversial research years ago incorrectly linked vaccines to autism. Since then, that study has been thoroughly rejected.
Kennedy’s claims that vaccines could cause autism, according to Hassan, were harming families.
She added, “When you continue to sow doubt about settled science, it makes it impossible for us to move forward.” She added, “He is re-litigating and churning settled science so we can’t go forward and find out what the cause of autism is and treat these kids and help these families.”
Republicans on the health committee continued to be supportive of Kennedy, with the exception of Cassidy. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, a Republican from Alabama, stated at the hearing that his granddaughter, who is due in a few weeks, would not be a pincushion when it comes to vaccines. He also mentioned that his two boys wanted to vote for Kennedy in the presidential election.
Despite both claiming to have vaccinated their own children, two more people had concerns regarding the safety of vaccines.
Republican Senator Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma chastised his fellow senators for examining Kennedy’s dubious views on vaccines.
Can’t we challenge science? Mullin inquired.
Kennedy’s financial interest in lawsuits against vaccine manufacturers was a source of concern for others.
Kennedy’s financial disclosure forms, which indicate that he still intends to collect fees in cases directed to the law firm in a lawsuit against the vaccination, were questioned by Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, the state where the Gardasil vaccine, which prevents cervical cancer, is manufactured. Kennedy profited $850,000 from the transaction last year.
Given that you stand to benefit greatly from successful lawsuits against vaccine producers, how can people who need to trust federal vaccine programs trust you to be impartial and grounded in science? Kaine inquired.
Kennedy informed Kaine that he had ceded his financial stake in the case.
Kennedy’s statement on social media that he would not take sides as conspiracy theorists doubt the events of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks was another point of contention for Kaine.
Kennedy retorted that he had learned to challenge authority from an early age, stating, “My father told me when I was 13 years old, People in authority lie.”
Both Republicans and Democrats questioned the nominee on his abortion-related plans on multiple occasions. Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina asked if he would designate pro-life deputies, while a number of Democrats asked him how he would handle the abortion medication mifepristone.
Lawsuits against the drug’s use, including its availability through telehealth, were defended by the Biden administration. The contentious medication, which was licensed by the Food and Drug Administration more than 20 years ago to safely terminate pregnancies, has not yet been decided how to be handled, according to Kennedy.
On Thursday, January 30, 2025, in Washington, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., President Trump’s nomination for Secretary of Health and Human Services, speaks before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions during a hearing for his confirmation on Capitol Hill. (Photo by Rod Lamkey, Jr., AP)AP
Kennedy informed the committee, “President Trump has not selected a policy with mifepristone, and I will carry out his policy.”
Kennedy wants to be in charge of the $1.7 trillion organization that manages Medicare, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act marketplace for about half of the nation, authorizes and suggests vaccines for fatal illnesses, and inspects hospitals and food for safety.
How Kennedy’s nomination is sent to the Senate floor for a vote will eventually be decided by the Senate finance committee, which Cassidy is a member of.
Kennedy misrepresented fundamental information on Medicare and Medicaid during a three-hour hearing with that committee on Wednesday. However, Kennedy’s plan to encourage Americans to eat better meals and investigate the causes of chronic illnesses like obesity received a lot of support from Republicans.
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