Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was set to begin assembly Republican senators Monday because the vaccine skeptic launches his contentious affirmation bid for well being secretary.
President-elect Trump’s controversial cupboard nominee headed to Capitol Hill for the primary of greater than a dozen deliberate conferences with GOP senators as he addresses questions on his views on vaccines.
Kennedy may even face powerful questions on his stance favoring abortion rights and controversial positions on meals security and different well being points.
It was unclear if Kennedy shall be accompanied by Aaron Siri, a key adviser who filed a petition in 2022 to revoke approval for the polio vaccine, which public well being officers credit score with eradicating the illness within the U.S.
Siri, some of the distinguished legal professionals within the anti-vaxxer motion, has reportedly been interviewing officers for potential senior jobs in a Kennedy-run Well being and Human Providers Division.
Senate Republican chief Mitch McConnell, who survived polio as a baby, says Kennedy ought to “steer clear” of efforts to discredit the polio vaccine.
“Efforts to undermine public confidence in proven cures are not just uninformed — they’re dangerous,” McConnell stated in a press release Friday.
Kennedy and his allies say he’s not against vaccines however merely desires to topic them for extra rigorous medical testing or give folks the choice of selecting whether or not to get vaccinated.
RFK Jr. has additionally stated that he believes vaccines trigger autism, a conspiracy principle that medical doctors say has been debunked by numerous scientific medical research.
Critics say Kennedy’s baseless questioning of vaccine effectiveness might result in the reversal of long-standing vaccine mandates for youngsters attending public college, in flip opening the door to the return of numerous killer ailments.
Except for vaccines, RFK Jr. has been harshly essential of the American well being care system and meals corporations, suggesting that thousands and thousands of People are being poisoned by unhealthy meals and poor well being care remedy.
He additionally broadly backs abortion rights, a place that places him at odds with most Republicans in Congress. Some anti-abortion figures like former Vice President Mike Pence have criticized him though most have held their hearth in deference to Trump.
RFK Jr. has robust backing from Trump, who wields nearly unchallenged energy inside the GOP for now.
However his controversial positions might spark opposition from company lobbyists for the industries concerned, who quantity to among the greatest bankrollers of Republican lawmakers.
Like different nominees, RFK Jr. wants help of at the very least 50 senators to win affirmation, that means he might probably afford to lose the votes of not more than three GOP senators.
Trump was as soon as a powerful supporter of vaccines and boasted that he saved thousands and thousands of lives by pushing for the fast improvement of the vaccines that ended the COVID pandemic.
However with right-wing fury over COVID restrictions driving anti-vaxxer sentiment, the president-elect has vowed to let Kennedy “go wild” on vaccines and the American well being system.
Initially Revealed: December 16, 2024 at 11:12 AM EST
