Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of the Division of Well being and Human Companies (HHS), will emphasize that he’s not “anti-vaccine” when he seems Wednesday in Congress on the first of two straight days of Senate affirmation hearings.
“I want to make sure the Committee is clear about a few things. News reports have claimed that I am anti-vaccine or anti-industry. Well, I am neither; I am pro-safety,” Kennedy will say in his opening assertion in entrance of the Senate Finance Committee.
The assertion was shared first with Fox Information forward of the looks by Kennedy, who, if confirmed, would have management over 18 highly effective federal companies, together with the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention, the Meals and Drug Administration, the Nationwide Institutes of Well being and the Facilities for Medicare and Medicaid Companies.
And Kennedy will emphasize he’s not “the enemy of food producers. American farms are the bedrock of our culture and national security … I want to work with our farmers and food producers to remove burdensome regulations and unleash American ingenuity.”
The listening to, in addition to a Thursday listening to in entrance of the Senate Well being, Training, Labor, and Pensions Committee (a courtesy listening to as solely the Senate Finance Committee will vote on Kennedy’s affirmation), are anticipated to be contentious due to Kennedy’s controversial vaccine views, together with his repeated claims linking vaccines to autism, which have been debunked by scientific analysis.
Kennedy additionally served for years as chair or chief authorized counsel for Kids’s Well being Protection, the nonprofit group he based that has advocated towards vaccines and sued the federal authorities quite a few instances, together with a problem over the authorization of the COVID-19 vaccine for kids.
After Trump’s convincing November presidential election victory, Kennedy has mentioned he received’t “take away anybody’s vaccines.”
And in his opening assertion at his affirmation listening to, Kennedy will highlight that “all of my kids are vaccinated, and I believe vaccines have a critical role in healthcare.”
However he can even say, “In my advocacy, I have disturbed the status quo by asking uncomfortable questions. Well, I won’t apologize for that. We have massive health problems in this country that we must face honestly.”
HHS is a large federal division, with roughly 90,000 folks and an annual price range of roughly $1.7 trillion. Kennedy mentioned he wished to shift the main target of the companies he would oversee towards the promotion of a wholesome life-style and the basis causes of continual ailments, which has garnered some bipartisan help in Congress.
Kennedy has mentioned he would goal to overtake dietary pointers and take goal at ultra-processed meals, amongst different initiatives.
“American farms are the bedrock of our culture and national security,” Kennedy is anticipated to say in his opening assertion. “I want to work with our farmers and food producers to remove burdensome regulations and unleash American ingenuity.”
He’ll warn that “the United States has worse health than any other developed nation, yet we spend far more on healthcare — at least double; and in some cases, triple.”
And he’ll “thank President Trump for entrusting me to deliver on his promise to make America healthy again.”
“Should I be so privileged to be confirmed, we will make sure our tax dollars support healthy foods. We will scrutinize the chemical additives in our food supply. We will remove the financial conflicts of interest in our agencies. We will create an honest, unbiased, science-driven HHS, accountable to the President, to Congress, and to the American people. We will reverse the chronic disease epidemic and put the nation back on the road to health,” Kennedy is anticipated to say.
The 71-year-old Kennedy, the longtime environmental activist and crusader who’s the scion of the nation’s most storied political dynasty, launched a long-shot marketing campaign for the Democrat presidential nomination towards then-President Biden in April 2023. However six months later, he switched to an impartial run for the White Home.
Kennedy made main headlines once more final August when he dropped his presidential bid and endorsed Trump. Whereas Kennedy had lengthy recognized as a Democrat and repeatedly invoked his late father, former Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, and his late uncle, former President John F. Kennedy – who had been each assassinated within the Sixties – Kennedy in recent times constructed relationships with far-right leaders due partly to his high-profile vaccine skepticism.
Trump introduced quickly after the November election that he would nominate Kennedy to his Cupboard to run HHS.
Opposition to Kennedy’s nomination has been fierce, with advocacy teams working advert campaigns urging senators to vote towards his affirmation.
Kennedy, in his opening assertion, will “thank my wife Cheryl, who is with us here today; and all the members of my large extended family, for the love that they have so generously shared. Ours has always been a family devoted to public service, and I look forward to continuing that legacy.”
However many members of the Kennedy household had been very vocal of their opposition to his major problem towards Biden in addition to his impartial White Home run.
And on the eve of his affirmation listening to, his well-known cousin, Caroline Kennedy, despatched a letter to senators on Tuesday that charged Kennedy as one who “preys on the desperation of parents and sick children” and whose actions “have cost lives.”
She gave the impression to be referring to Kennedy’s connection to a measles outbreak in 2019 within the Pacific Island nation of Samoa, the place 83 folks died.
Amongst these vocal of their opposition to Kennedy is Democrat Gov. Josh Inexperienced of Hawaii, a former emergency room doctor who traveled to Samoa to assist deal with the lethal measles outbreak, together with vaccinating tens of 1000’s of people.
“Our people deserve a Health and Human Services Secretary who champions science, supports vaccines, and is committed to lowering costs while safeguarding health care access,” the governor mentioned in a press release. “Mr. Kennedy’s lack of experience raises serious concerns about the future of critical programs like Medicare and Medicaid.”
It’s not simply Democrats who’ve points with Kennedy.
Social conservative Republicans aiming to curtail abortion rights take problem together with his previous feedback in help of abortion rights.
On the eve of the affirmation listening to, former Vice President Mike Pence’s Advancing American Freedom public advocacy group launched a modest advert marketing campaign opposing Kennedy primarily based on his abortion views.
“We need leadership that defends life and protects the most vulnerable—not radical policies that undermine our values,” the group wrote in a social media submit.
Kennedy met with senators once more on Tuesday, on the eve of his affirmation listening to, however didn’t take shouted questions from reporters.
However veteran Trump administration official Katie Miller informed Fox Information Digital that Kennedy’s “prepared and excited” for the hearings.
