GOP senators appear to be embracing the potential for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to guide the Division of Well being and Human Providers, regardless of his controversial views on vaccines and pro-abortion report.
Kennedy was initially thought to have a tough path to affirmation, however after assembly with some two dozen senators this week, many appeared able to look previous his political baggage and give attention to areas of shared curiosity.
Kennedy’s affirmation will not be a certain guess, however he has confronted far much less skepticism than a few of Trump’s different divisive picks, significantly Pete Hegseth, his choose to guide the Pentagon, and former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard’s (D-Hawaii), tapped to guide a key intelligence workplace.
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) mentioned he had a “productive” dialog with Kennedy and has heard comparable sentiments from his colleagues, although he acknowledged there should be some factors of “doable rivalry.”
“I feel [Kennedy’s] made progress,” Tillis mentioned. “I’ve heard typically optimistic feedback about simply the interplay, however a lot of the workplaces additionally say they’ve issues to comply with up with.”
Opposition to Kennedy facilities totally on his coverage stances, a lot of which run counter to conventional GOP orthodoxy. The previous Democrat turned Impartial has spoken in favor of abortion. He additionally has an extended historical past of questioning vaccines and has promoted the debunked concept that vaccines trigger autism.
Tillis mentioned he doesn’t agree with labeling Kennedy as anti-vaccine.
“I feel that he does have considerations with some vaccines, however I’ve gone past the broad brush, characterization, based mostly on my dialogue,” he mentioned.
Kennedy argues the rise of continual illnesses in America may be traced to ultra-processed meals, environmental toxins and chemical components. He desires to ban fluoridated water and enhance entry to uncooked milk.
Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) mentioned he felt Kennedy was personable, despite the fact that they’ve vastly completely different views on the fossil gas business and the way it impacts public well being.
Mullin mentioned he thinks Kennedy is asking applicable questions concerning the science and security behind some vaccines.
“The extra you speak to him, the extra he explains it, the extra you want him,” Mullin mentioned.
Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kansas), a doctor, is among the many most enthusiastic of Kennedy’s backers. He instantly endorsed Kennedy after their assembly.
Later within the week, he launched a “Make America Wholesome Once more” caucus with Sens. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), and Ron Johnson (R-Wis.).
“Proper now, America doesn’t have their well being. You consider it, 60 p.c of People have a continual illness, 20 p.c of our children are on some kind of medicine. Let’s put air beneath RFK Jr.’s dream – and that is my dream, too,” Marshall mentioned Friday on Fox Information.
Up to now, Kennedy has principally met with staunch conservatives, many who’re each shut allies of President-elect Trump and probably to object to the nominee’s earlier pro-abortion stance.
However after assembly with him, they’ve expressed no reservations.
When Kennedy launched his presidential marketing campaign as a Democrat, he endorsed a ban on abortion after the primary trimester however then shortly backtracked. He additionally recommended he opposed banning abortion earlier than fetal viability, typically round 24 weeks right into a being pregnant.
On his marketing campaign web site, Kennedy mentioned he’s “a agency supporter of the ideas laid out 50 years in the past in Roe v. Wade” and that “if the courts don’t overturn Dobbs v. Jackson and restore abortion rights, he’ll assist laws to perform the identical.”
Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.), who has referred to as himself the “most pro-life” senator, mentioned he left his assembly with Kennedy feeling reassured.
“I do not suppose he tried to persuade me of his pro-life credentials. Everyone knows he is had a number of positions over time in that space,” Lankford mentioned. “What he assured me of is that President Trump … is pro-life. He had a pro-life HHS earlier than, and people are the insurance policies he’ll have once more. He made it very, very clear the place President Trump stands on this and what he plans to have the ability to implement.”
Equally, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) mentioned Kennedy dedicated to implementing all of the anti-abortion insurance policies from Trump’s first time period.
Tuberville, who held up army promotions for months as a result of he objected to the Pentagon’s abortion coverage, went into his assembly with Kennedy eager to ask about abortion. He endorsed Kennedy in a submit on X quickly after.
“Our assembly reaffirmed what I already knew: RFK Jr. is the suitable man to ensure our meals is secure, deliver transparency to vaccines and well being care, and Make America Wholesome Once more,” Tuberville wrote.
Kennedy has but to satisfy with potential swing vote Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) or Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), a polio survivor who just lately broadly criticized efforts to revoke approval of the polio vaccine.
With out mentioning Kennedy by identify, McConnell mentioned that “anybody searching for the Senate’s consent to serve within the incoming administration would do properly to avoid even the looks of affiliation with such efforts.”
If each Democrat opposes him, Kennedy can solely afford to lose three GOP votes.
Different prime Republicans, together with Sen. Invoice Cassidy (R-La.), the incoming chair of the Senate’s HELP well being committee, and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) is not going to meet with RFK Jr. till January.
