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    • Trump cabinet chooses RFK Jr. welcomed by Republican senators
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    Trump cabinet chooses RFK Jr. welcomed by Republican senators

    Umito Posted on

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    WASHINGTON – Robert F. Kennedy Jr.bears one of the most famous last names in Democratic politics, supports abortion rights and openly questions the safety of vaccines.

    But none of those things appear to be of concern to Republican senators, who are key to the potential confirmation of the 70-year-old Kennedy as That of President-elect Donald Trump candidate to head the US Department of Health and Human Services.

    Most Republican senators appear ready to support Kennedy Jr. to the influential Cabinet position within the new Trump administration, even as they are harassed about how they will vote for even more controversial nomineeslike the old one Representative Matt Gaetz being Trump’s attorney general and Fox News host Pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defense.

    “RFK Jr. has championed issues like healthy foods and the need for greater transparency in our public health infrastructure,” said Senator Bill Cassidy, a Louisiana Republican who has been an outspoken critic of Trump and sits on the Senate Finance Committee that will consider Kennedy. “I look forward to learning more about his other policy positions and how they will support a conservative, pro-American agenda.”

    Mike Crapo, Republican of Idaho, who will chair the finance committee next year, said in a statement that Kennedy “prioritized fighting chronic disease through consumer choice and healthy living “, adding: “I look forward to considering his nomination. »

    Kennedy is the son of former U.S. Attorney General and Senator Robert F. Kennedy, and the nephew of former President John F. Kennedy and Senator Ted Kennedy. He worked for years as an environmental lawyer, but over the past two decades he has become well known for his promotion false allegations that vaccines are dangerous or cause autism in children.

    For some senators, Kennedy Jr.’s past skepticism is a boon for his candidacy.

    “He raises these questions that are looking from the outside in instead of just saying, let’s take the science at its word,” said Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla. “We ask these questions and let them prove that they are safe and that there are not the side effects that there may or may not be.”

    Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisc., said Kennedy would be a “game changer” as HHS secretary.

    Johnson, who also serves on the Senate Finance Committee, said Kennedy called him before he withdrew from the presidential race to ask about his chances of being confirmed as a Cabinet nominee.

    “The first thing out of my mouth was, ‘Bobby, this is the answer to my prayers,’” he said.

    Other senators say they support the scientific consensus on vaccines, but don’t worry that Kennedy will derail that consensus as HHS secretary.

    “I think (Kennedy is) a good choice,” said Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo. Asked if she had any concerns about his vaccine skepticism, she said: “No, because he has stated publicly and repeatedly that he doesn’t believe it’s his job to obstruct people who want vaccines.”

    Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., a member of the Finance Committee, said he “might disagree with him on some of the vaccines that children should receive in school” but said he was “happy to disagree with him on one thing or another.”

    “Everyone acts like you’re one problem away from not supporting a candidate,” he added. “I don’t work that way.”

    Kennedy said abortion should be legal until a fetus is “viable outside the womb” and supports codifying the abortion protections that existed under Roe v. Wade – who already frustrated some anti-abortion Republicans.

    Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., military promotions blocked in the Senate for nearly a year to protest a Pentagon policy that paid military personnel to travel to obtain abortions.

    But “as long as he’s open about what he believes in, I’ll probably be for him,” Tuberville said of Kennedy.

    Asked about Kennedy’s positions on vaccines, Tuberville added: “I think we’re taking way too many (vaccines). I’m not against vaccines, I think they’ve helped us. I’ve taken some a lot myself, but there are many.” controversy now. We don’t need to be human guinea pigs.

    But not all senators say they are ready to endorse Kennedy to lead the health agency.

    Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., said he was “concerned” about Kennedy’s comments on vaccines and said he wanted to hear what Kennedy was telling senators about his support for federal vaccination programs.

    “He’s going to ask questions about the processes and procedures for getting (vaccines), I guess, and it’s good to ask those questions,” Rounds said. “But I think ultimately we need to be able to show our support for the vaccination programs in the United States over the long term.”

    Democrats, meanwhile, strongly opposed Kennedy.

    “It couldn’t be more dangerous,” said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash. “The consequences are not theoretical: they are matters of life and death.”

    Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass.., called Kennedy: “Dangerous. Unreserved. Unserious.”

    The former independent presidential candidate faced opposition from many famous family members during his bid for the White House. initially supported President Joe Biden and then his replacementKamala Harris. Kennedy Jr., ultimately dropped out of the race in August and encouraged his supporters to support Trump, saying he had been promised a cabinet position in the new Republican administration.

    Kennedy will face confirmation hearings with the Senate Finance Committee. If he is approved by that panel, the full Senate will vote on his nomination.

    For the next two years, the Senate will be controlled by Republicans with a 53-47 majority. If all Democrats united to oppose Trump’s nominees, only four Republicans would have to defect to defeat them.

    However, Kennedy is far from the most controversial candidate put forward by Trump. Gaetz and Hegseth both face sexual assault allegations that have already complicated their candidacy.

    Sudiksha Kochi contributed.

    Umito
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