WASHINGTON — Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President-elect Donald Trump’s decide to be Health and Human Services Secretary, started assembly with senators Monday.
He plans to satisfy with over two dozen Republicans on Capitol Hill this week, in keeping with a supply accustomed to his plans. The conferences embrace key incoming leaders like Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., and soon-to-be Senate Finance Chair Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, whose committee will oversee and vote on Kennedy’s deliberate nomination.
Kennedy is poised to face questions on his lengthy historical past of anti-vaccine rhetoric, his imaginative and prescient for reshaping the well being care trade and his help for abortion rights as he meets with GOP senators who largely oppose authorized abortion.
“Mr. Kennedy is immensely ready to satisfy with over 2 dozen Senators this week. He is energized, he’s excited to speak about President Trump’s imaginative and prescient to make America wholesome once more,” the supply accustomed to Kennedy’s plans instructed NBC News.
His first sit-down was with Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., who referred to as it a “nice assembly” and mentioned, “I’m fully supportive of what he needs to perform, and I want him one of the best of luck.”
Scott mentioned he and Kennedy each need “transparency” on vaccines.
Other notable names on Kennedy’s anticipated assembly record are reasonable Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska; Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., who faces re-election in 2026; and Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., a senior member of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee that can even assessment his nomination.
Senate Republicans may have 53 seats beginning on Jan. 3, which means they will afford three defections and nonetheless verify Trump’s nominees. A fourth defection can be deadly to a nomination except some Democrats vote sure. Hearings haven’t been scheduled but however might happen earlier than Trump takes workplace on Jan. 20; ultimate affirmation votes should wait till he’s within the White House.
One key senator to observe in Kennedy’s battle for affirmation is Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who’s stepping down from GOP management after 18 years within the high job however staying on as a senator, eliminating a political hurdle to voting as he pleases. McConnell, a polio survivor, fired a warning shot Friday in response to a New York Times report {that a} Kennedy adviser as soon as requested the FDA to rescind approval of the polio vaccine.
“The polio vaccine has saved tens of millions of lives and held out the promise of eradicating a horrible illness,” McConnell mentioned in an announcement. “Efforts to undermine public confidence in confirmed cures are usually not simply uninformed — they’re harmful.”
A Kennedy spokesperson instructed the New York Times that he and the adviser in query had not mentioned the adviser’s push to revoke approval of the polio vaccine. Kennedy spokeswoman Katie Miller instructed NBC News on Friday, “The Polio Vaccine must be out there to the general public and completely and correctly studied.”
Asked Monday if he helps the polio vaccine, Kennedy instructed reporters, “Yeah, I help it.”
Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., mentioned he may have “questions” for Kennedy on his abortion views.
“Obviously, HHS underneath the primary Trump administration was very clear on the difficulty of abortion conscience protections and all these issues. But [President Joe] Biden’s group unwound all of that,” Lankford mentioned in a latest interview. “Those are questions I’m going to ask.”