RFK Jr.’s nomination to be health secretary progress within the Senate

Washington (AP) – Robert F. Kennedy Jr.A vocal vaccine skeptical and activist lawyer appeared on the field to become the country’s health secretary after winning the decisive support of Republican Senator Bill Cassidy, a doctor who says Kennedy has assured him that he would not overturn the country childhood vaccination program.

In a sharp Partisan vote, the Republican controlled Senates Finance Committee Kennedy’s nomination of 14-13 advanced and sent his bid to oversee $ 1.7 trillion US Health and Human Services Agency for a full vote on the Senate floor.

All Democrats in the committee opposed Kennedy, whose last name had been synonymous with their party for generations before he matched President Donald Trump during the presidential campaign in 2024. They sounded an alarm on Kennedy’s work to then doubt Vaccine security and his potential to transfer litigation over drug makers.

A full Senate vote has not yet been planned, but with Cassidy’s vote, which is no longer in doubt, Kennedy’s nomination is likely to succeed absent any vote at the last minute. Kennedy has been among the more disputed by Trump’s cabinet elections, and Republicans gathering around him showed another powerful target for near Lockstep faithfulness to the president.

Cassidy had publicly detailed his personal struggle, as a doctor who has seen the life -saving ability of the vaccines with Kennedy’s confirmation. “Your past that undermines confidence in vaccines with unfounded or misleading arguments relates to me,” Cassidy told Kennedy last week.

But when it came to his vote on Tuesday, he advanced Kennedy with a simple “Aye.”

Cassidy, who is ready for re -election next year and could face a primary challenge, later described “Intense conversations” with Kennedy and Vice President JD Vance, who started this weekend and continued on Tuesday morning, just before the vote. These conversations provided “serious obligations” from the administration, Cassidy said. His re -election campaign had “absolutely zero to do with the decision,” he told journalists.

Cassidy said in a speech later on the Senate floor that Kennedy in exchange for his support has promised not to make any changes to existing vaccine recommendations made by a federal advisory committee and has accepted not to scrub the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of Statements, Clarify vaccines, does not cause autism. In addition, Cassidy said Kennedy will consult him about new employment to the agency and appear if asked quarterly for the Senate Health Committee, as Cassidy chairman. A 30-day message will be sent to the committee if Kennedy tries to make changes federal vaccine security monitoring programs.

“He wants to be a secretary,” Cassidy said. “But I think he will also be a partner in working for this purpose.”

Cassidy said Kennedy’s formidable after led a maximum pressure campaign and bombarded his office with thousands of messages daily. Pediatricians also extended and expressed fears of outbreaks and deaths of violent illnesses among children if a man who has a history of breaking down inoculations is installed as the country’s health secretary, he said.

Republican Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina, another vulnerable voting that Kennedy was working to win, said he was reassured last week by the nominated health secretary’s promise to allow researchers in the public health organs, including the Centers for Disease Control and National Institute for Health You have to work “Independently.”

“The only way Bobby Kennedy gets across is if he takes a position against safety by proven vaccines,” said Tillis. “It will be a problem for me.”

Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski from Alaska and Mitch McConnell of Kentucky have also been considered potentially unsecured voices because they voted against Trump’s defense secretary who has been nominated and has expressed concern for Kennedy’s anti-vaccine work. Kennedy could lose support from all three of these senators and still become health secretary.

Democrats, meanwhile, have continued to raise alarms about Kennedy’s potential to financially benefit from changing vaccine guidelines or weakening federal trial against vaccine producers.

“It seems that many different types of vaccin-related decisions and communication-as you would be authorized to meet and influence as secretary-can, result in considerable financial compensation for your family,” democratically sensing. Elizabeth Warren from Massachusetts and Ron Wyden of Oregon wrote in a letter sent this weekend to Kennedy.

Kennedy said he will give his son all Referring fees in legal cases against vaccine manufacturers, including the fees he receives from referring clients in a case against Merck. Kennedy told the committee that he has referred hundreds of clients to a law firm suitable for Merck’s Gardasil, the human papillomavirus vaccine that prevents cervical cancer. He has earned $ 2.5 million from the deal in the last three years.

As a secretary, Kennedy would be responsible for the food and hospital’s inspections and provide health insurance for millions of Americans and investigate deadly diseases.