Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
Robert f. Kennedy Junior, President Trump’s candidate for Health Secretary, appeared on Wednesday to remove some Republican qualifications and reached close to a confirmation vote. After grilling over three hours From senators from both sides.
The Senate Finance Committee touched a wide range of subjects of his hearing, hearing and criticizing measles outbreaks and vaccines in Samoa, and his long history of the country’s public health establishment.
Mr. Kennedy is known to Americans as a democratic political dynasty, who broke with his family to join the army with a Republican, Mr. Trump. Nevertheless, for many Americans, for the first time on Wednesday, they may hear Mr. Kennedy’s distinct raspi voice; They have spasmodic dysphonia, a neurological condition that causes some muscles in the voice box, or self -fingering, for cramps.
Mr. Kennedy will have to face additional questions from the Senate Committee on health, education, labor and pension on Thursday. But the hearing of the Finance Committee is more important, because the Finance Committee is the panel that will vote on whether to send the nomination of Mr. Kennedy to the Senate floor for one vote.
There are five takeaments from Wednesday session.
Mr. Kennedy is winning most of the Republican.
Maybe all but one. Republican looked bigger to support Mr. Kennedy. At least two whose votes were in doubt – Northern Carolina Senator Thom Tilis and Indiana Senator Tod Young – asked questions that suggest that they would support Mr. Kennedy.
“I think you are handling yourself well,” Mr. Tilis told Mr. Kennedy, before asking him an easy: “Are you a conspiracy theorist?” Mr. Kennedy replied that it was a pejorative that was implemented to him, “mainly to prevent me from asking hard questions of powerful interests.” Mr. Young asked Mr. Kennedy if he would work to restore public belief in public health institutions; Mr. Kennedy said that he would do through “radical transparency”.
But there is still at least one very important Republican to see: Senator Bill Cassidi, Republican of Louisiana and Chairman of the Senate Health Committee. A doctor, Mr. Cassidi has not said how he will vote. He usually supports public health initiatives. After meeting Mr. Kennedy, he said that he had a “clear discussion” – the Washington Code for a disagreement. Mr. Cassidi said on Wednesday that he wanted to withdraw the decision on Mr. Kennedy by the hearing of the Health Committee.
He demonstrated a lack of expertise about the major programs that he would look after.
Mr. Kennedy seemed confused about two big programs that would be under his purview as a health secretary: Medicare, Government Insurance Program for Older Americans, and Medicade, Federal-State partnerships that include low-income people . As part of interrogation by Mr. Cassidi, he said that he wanted to integrate two programs. Mr. Cassidi asked him how he would do it.
“I don’t know the answer,” Mr. Kennedy accepted. “I look forward to searching for options with you.” At another point, he said about the Medicade: “The premium is very high, the deductables are very high, and everyone is getting sick.” But except for very rare cases, medicid enrolls do not pay any one of those types of fees.
Callie Means, a health care entrepreneur who has been an advisor to Mr. Kennedy and was important in them PublishRejecting Mr. Kennedy’s stumbles, the senators focused on the Minutia that Mr. Kennedy could easily learn, while Mr. Kennedy was focusing on the big picture – improvement in health for all Americans.
“They are speaking different languages,” Mr. Means said after hearing the senators and Mr. Kennedy.
Mr. Kennedy cannot escape his shifting statements, especially on vaccines.
Mr. Kennedy’s Vaccine Suspicion remains the strongest line of the Democrat attack. Even some of Mr. Kennedy’s colleagues admitted that they could be confirmed by focusing on vaccines in news media and among MPs. Mr. Kennedy tried to change the subject on Wednesday. It was reporting that Dell Bigtree, his former communication director and a fierce critic of vaccines, were sitting on the back of the room with the general audience, while the healthy -eating advocate was in front with Mr. Kennedy’s family.
The Democrats were ready with the previous statements of Mr. Kennedy and pushed him hard including abortion. Mr. Kennedy’s position on that issue has been on all maps. He raised questions about whether he would support the efforts of abortion opponents, an effort to rapidly restrict the abortion pill mifiprystone. But overall, he said, he will support Mr. Trump’s anti -abortion agenda.
It reprimanded the Democrat Senator Maggi Hasan of New Hampshire, who noted that when Mr. Kennedy came to his state as the presidential candidate in 2023, he described himself as a “supporter like” and said That the government “did not have”, any business is telling people what they can do or not to do with their bodies. “She wanted to know what had changed.
“When was it done that you decided to sell those values to your entire life to give power by President Trump?” Ms. Hasan asked fast. Keeping this question in mind, Mr. Kennedy said, “I agree with President Trump that every abortion is a tragedy.”
During a particularly controversial exchange, Colorado’s Democrat Senator Michael Bennett revealed Mr. Kennedy’s claim that Kovid -19 was “was”Targeted to attack“Caucasian and black people and Chinese people and Ashkeenzi Jews, and they claim that Lime Disease was” extremely probable “to be an engineer biovipon.
“I probably said so,” Mr. Kennedy said about the disease of Lime. For the Covid-19 claim, Mr. Kennedy told Mr. Bennett that he did not say that the virus was “deliberately targeted.”
Sri Kennedy’s visit SamoaWhile a measles outbreak killed 83 people, most of them also provided fodder for democrats. In 2018, two infants died in Samoa after a vaccine against measles, inspiring the government to temporarily suspend its measles vaccination program. Deaths were later attributed to nursing mistakes; The program resumed in April 2019. In June of that year, Mr. Kennedy visited the island nation. His critics have accused him of going to the anti-vaccine spirit there, and has put children at risk discouraging vaccination.
Massachusetts Democrat Senator Elizabeth Warren pressurized Mr. Kennedy whether he had accepted the responsibility for the death. He said that he did not.
But he later insisted: “I support the measles vaccine. I support polio vaccine. I will not do anything as HHS Secretary that makes it difficult or discouraged people from taking it. ,
Financial conflict emerged as a possible stumbling.
In Ethics and financial disclosure details, Continued last week, Mr. Kennedy said that he will continue collecting fees for cases in which he had referred to customers. Visner bomA legal firm who is sueing Merc on his Gardassil vaccine. The vaccine protects from human papillomavirus and administered teenagers To prevent cervical and other cancer later in life.
Senator Warren pressured him to say that he would not continue to pay as secretary and after four years. Mr. Kennedy became disappointed.
“You are giving me a voice like a crack,” he complained. But he would not agree with Ms. Warren’s demand. After some back and forth, he finally said: “You are asking me not to sue the pharmaceutical companies. No, I am not going to agree with this. ,
The great movement is strong, and Mr. Kennedy is its undisputed leader.
Despite hard inquiry, it was clear from the makeup of the audience on Wednesday that Karishmai Mr. Kennedy has a good support. Many of his views have been welcomed in political spectrum: to remove the conflict of interest in federal health bureaucracy, limit the use of food tickets to buy sugar foods, and make health and fitness programs mandatory in schools.
The seats behind the room were filled with Kennedy’s fans, many of them who wore messages like “Make America Healthy Again” and “Confirm RFK Junior”. When entered the room, he became happy and clapped.
Among the people sitting in front with Mr. Kennedy, the founder of Moms, Zen Honeycut across the US, was a grass-moral advocacy group, and the manufacturer of the website Foodbabe.com, Wani Hari. Ms. Hari said that she was ready for Mr. Kennedy for the desire to take big industries like food and agriculture.
“I think he represents the fight against corruption,” he said.
Ms. Honeycut said: “She brings integrity, compassion and courage towards American people due to the desire to stand for our country’s health and safety, repeatedly risking her reputation, right? He keeps himself in the way. ,
