Senators grill RFK Jr. in HHS confirmation hearing

Key takeaways:

• The hearing was often contentious, especially in regard to Kennedy’s views on vaccines and abortion.
• Kennedy has some bipartisan support for plans to reduce chronic diseases and reform the food industry.

Senators grilled Robert F. Kennedy Jr. about his views on vaccines, abortion and other health-related matters in a frequently contentious hearing Wednesday to assess his nomination to be the next U.S. health secretary.

As expected, questions from the Senate Finance Committee centered on a few key areas, including Kennedy’s history of pushing anti-science views about vaccines, his desire to reduce chronic diseases and reform the food industry, and his support for abortion. It was the first test of President Donald J. Trump’s nominees for top health positions in the United States.

Key moments

The hearing was interrupted multiple times by outbursts from the audience, including by someone who appeared to scream “You are!” in response to Kennedy declaring that he was not anti-vaccine or anti-industry. Republican committee chairman Mike Crapo of Idaho issued a warning, saying he would recess the hearing if police could not restore order.

On the issue of vaccine safety, Democratic raking member Ron Wyden of Oregon said Kennedy “has embraced conspiracy theories, quacks [and] charlatans” and “has made it his life’s work to sow doubt and discourage parents from getting their kids lifesaving vaccines.” Experts have told Healio that Kennedy’s well-documented support of disproven claims about the safety of vaccines should disqualify him to be HHS secretary.

Democratic members questioned Kennedy about other scientifically dubious comments he has made related to the field of infectious diseases. “Did you say that Lyme disease is highly likely a militarily engineered bioweapon?” Colorado Democrat Michael F. Bennett asked. “I probably did say that,” Kennedy replied.

Republican Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, a physician who has publicly disagreed with Kennedy’s views on vaccines, and Democrat Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada both pressed Kennedy about Medicare and Medicaid, seemingly testing his familiarity with how they work. Kennedy at times struggled to answer specific questions about the programs.

Kennedy said ending the chronic disease epidemic in the U.S. — an objective with bipartisan support on the committee — would be his No. 1 priority. All the other issues, including the cost and delivery of health care, “are moving deck chairs around on the Titanic,” he said. According to the CDC, Chronic diseases are the leading cause of illness and disability in the U.S. and account for 90% of the nation’s health care expenditures.

Kennedy’s desire to reform the food industry to make it healthier and cleaner also drew some bipartisan support, although Kennedy cautioned that he did not want to tell people what they were allowed to eat. “If you like a McDonald’s cheeseburger or a Diet Coke, which my boss loves, you should be able to get them,” he said, in reference to Trump. “If you want to eat Hostess Twinkies, you should be able to do that. But you should know what the impacts are on your family and on your health.”

Kennedy, who acknowledged that he is pro-choice, responded to multiple questions on abortion the same way: “I agree with President Trump that every abortion is a tragedy. I agree with him that we cannot be a moral nation if we have 1.2 million abortions a year.” Kennedy’s history of pro-choice comments is seen by observers as a potential wedge between him and Republican committee members.

On mifepristone, the medical abortion pill, Kennedy told Republican James Lankford of Oklahoma that Trump “has made it clear to me that he wants me to look at safety issues.” Experts have said that mifepristone is safe and effective.

What’s next

Kennedy will also appear at 10 a.m. ET on Thursday in front of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, which has jurisdiction over public health agencies like the CDC, FDA and NIH.

However, only the Senate Finance Committee will vote on whether to send Kennedy’s nomination to the full Senate for a confirmation vote. (Nominees need only a simple majority to clear committees and be confirmed in the Senate.)

Crapo said members of the finance committee had until 5 p.m. ET on Wednesday to submit more questions for Kennedy. Republicans have a 14-13 majority in the committee.

Reference:

Published by:

Read more about

This post was originally published on this site