Robert F. Kennedy Jr. might be on Capitol Hill this week for an onslaught of conferences with senators in an try and be confirmed after he was appointed by President-elect Donald Trump to guide the U.S. Division of Well being and Human Providers.
However like these Cupboard choices who went earlier than him (see: Pete Hegseth for secretary of protection or Tulsi Gabbard for director of nationwide intelligence), Kennedy’s affirmation is way from assured.
Already there are considerations about his ideological compatibility with the MAGA of us who will encompass him ought to he grow to be the following HHS secretary. Kennedy’s views on abortion, corn syrups and seed oils, and vaccines, particularly, have earned him some enemies within the Republican Get together.
Kennedy as soon as stated that he supported abortion entry till fetal viability (which most consultants imagine is about 23-24 weeks), however more moderen statements recommend his stance is much less mounted. So, at a minimal, anti-abortion Republicans are prone to pin him to a suitable place on this particular coverage challenge—although even members of the GOP would possibly cave if Kennedy agrees to make sure concessions if confirmed.
After all, if Kennedy’s previous statements on abortion don’t tank his bid, his promise to control farms and meals might. Kennedy has beforehand complained about agribusiness giants and genetically modified crops and pesticides, which appears to have angered some Republicans in farming states.
Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley, of Iowa, informed Semafor that he’s already listening to considerations from farm teams about Kennedy’s affirmation.
“He’s made some statements about pigs and about GMO corn and soybeans. I can’t imagine that he’s going to have an issue with that,” Grassley stated. “But when he does, he has an issue with me.” Grassley additionally predicted that when Kennedy is pressed on his stances, “he’s not going to come back out anti-agriculture.”
Then there’s Kennedy’s criticism of processed meals as child-killing evils that might land him in scorching water with the most important Massive Mac lover within the White Home: Trump.
Notably, these aren’t the one statements Kennedy has made that might threaten his place in Trump’s White Home. His reflexible hostility towards vaccines has additionally put him at odds with many Republicans, together with Senate GOP Chief Mitch McConnell. With out naming Kennedy instantly, McConnell steered on Friday {that a} Kennedy lawyer’s prior bid to get the federal authorities to rescind its approval for the polio vaccine may jeopardize Kennedy’s nomination.
“Efforts to undermine public confidence in confirmed cures usually are not simply uninformed—they’re harmful,” stated McConnell, a polio survivor. “Anybody searching for the Senate’s consent to serve within the incoming administration would do effectively to avoid even the looks of affiliation with such efforts.”
Trump as soon as promised to let Kennedy “go wild” on well being and meals coverage in his administration, however his bid could possibly be in hassle if there are only a handful of Republican defectors. To fight this, Kennedy is reportedly on a mission to win over his skeptics.
In accordance with The Wall Avenue Journal, Kennedy’s plans for this week entail taking part in down his anti-vaxx file and saying that he’s aligned with the president-elect on his abortion stance. (Trump has stated that the difficulty is finest left to the states after the U.S. Supreme Court docket, in June 2022, overturned Roe v. Wade.) A supply near Kennedy additionally informed the outlet that the potential Cupboard decide will spend this week emphasizing the good thing about wholesome meals throughout his 25 conferences.
“Mr. Kennedy is immensely ready to fulfill with over 2 dozen Senators this week. He’s energized, he’s excited to speak about President Trump’s imaginative and prescient to make America wholesome once more,” a Kennedy spokesperson informed Politico on Sunday.
Kennedy’s staff is probably going projecting confidence as a result of they know Kennedy, like others, plucked for a spot in Trump’s Cupboard, will say and do no matter it takes to get confirmed. In any case, Kennedy has already needed to repudiate previous statements he made about Trump’s authoritarian tendencies and he’s come a great distance in Trump World since his quixotic problem to President Joe Biden.
So Kennedy, for his half, will seemingly do as a lot as he can this week to allay some Republicans’ considerations, and that may work within the brief time period—or till Trump will get fed up with listening to donor complaints about him and tosses him to the aspect.
