Washington – Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Will win the confirmation to lead the Ministry of Health and Human Services after his nomination has cleaned up the Senate Financing Committee on Tuesday and an important Republican Senator has been established with his confirmation.
The committee voted for RFK Jr. 14-13 along party lines and sent his nomination to the senate floor for a vote, probably next week. Republican Senator Bill Cassidy (LA.) Conventioned with all other Republicans in the committee to vote yes and said in a speech after that vote that he was confirming RFK Jr. would support.
It was not clear how Cassidy, a doctor who has doubts about RFK Jr. last week. Outto, would vote. Republicans only have one member in the committee than Democrats, so Cassidy had the power to decide the mood. No Republican senators have said they will vote against Kennedy.
“My expectation that we can have a great working relationship to make America healthy again is the basis of my support,” Cassidy said.
Cassidy said RFK Jr. And the Trump government had committed to him that they would protect vaccines to guarantee his voice. In his speech, the senator outlined a range of commitments that he said, such as maintaining an important federal vaccine advice council, working within the current vaccine inspection and safety system, and Cassidy -input in HHS –
RFK Jr. and Cassidy are planning to meet several times a month, and RFK Jr. Will update the Senate’s quarterly health committee, the senator said.
“I will use my authority as chairman of the Senate Committee to remove any attempt to remove the access of the public to life -saving vaccines,” Cassidy said. “I will care about every attempt to wrongly sow fear of vaccines.”
RFK Jr. has made drastic promises to concentrate HHS on tackling rising percentages of chronic diseases by reorienting scientific research and to strengthen food regulations.
This includes the regulation of ultra-processed foods, the dismissal of government employees, stripping vaccine makers of legal protection, purifying the Ministry of what he describes as conflicts of interest, and promoting alternative food and therapies including raw milk and Psychedelics, and insist on banning water fluoridation.
During his confirmation hearings, Kennedy said that he would initiate studies into the safety of the abortion pill Mifpistone and the Medicines Prize Negotiation Program of Medicare would continue. He refused to withdraw his earlier criticism of vaccines in the hearings.
Senator Thom Tillis (RN.C.) said he voted for Kennedy because he wanted the candidate to use his “legal mind” to improve medicine and medicia, food safety, school meals, drug prices and supply care chains in healthcare.
“I hope he gets wild and actually finds a way to lower the costs of health care,” Tillis said.
Tillis, however, warned that he would not approve of Kennedy’s attempts to undermine “the gold standard” of science at federal health authorities or to oppose vaccines that have been safely proven. Such actions would be Kennedy again for the Landen Committee, Tillis said.
Chairman of the Financial Committee Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) said that during his control process Kennedy had responded to hundreds of questions and “further than what is needed” had gone by the government when changing his ethical disclosures with regard to vaccine rights. Kennedy said he would give his adult son legal costs from matters related to Merck’s Gardasil HPV vaccine, after some senators had expressed concern that he would retain his financial interest in the court case.
On Tuesday, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Die against RFK Jr. voted that her concerns about conflicts of interest were not competent. She said that she still suffered from how Kennedy could limit the availability of vaccines by, for example, stripping away the liability protection of companies – an action for which he has expressed support for in the past. Other Democrats did not mention Kennedy for the role.
Cassidy’s decision to vote yes about Kennedy came as a surprise, although the nominees of Trump generally gained support from Republicans. Cassidy had said last week that his dual role as a politician and doctor brought him into a binding and had only indicated his support for the vote.
During the hearing of the health committee on the nomination of RFK Jr. Cassidy explained his situation. Should he help President Trump to get his cabinet in place, or should he vote against someone who could discourage people from vaccinating their children? Another consideration he expressed: should he help Trump to avoid the recoil that could result from non -vaccinated children who die?
“That’s my dilemma, man,” he told Kennedy.
On Tuesday, Cassidy returned to that dilemma in his comments on the Senate floor. He said he received hundreds of phone calls from the supporters of RFK Jr. The most convincing opponents, he said, were pediatricians.
Cassidy said that he shared their concern about vaccine -moved information that led to falling immunization percentages and unnecessary deaths of children.
“Children are now suffering from diseases that they would not have affected if the child was vaccinated,” Cassidy said.
But in the end the private guarantees of RFK Jr. won, he said.