Tillis. Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images
Senators who haven't committed on Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s nomination for HHS secretary say he'll have to lay out a cogent public health vision in twin confirmation hearings that start Wednesday.
Why it matters: Kennedy has alarmed public health experts with his years of vaccine criticism. The hearings in the Finance and HELP committees will show which senators still are concerned and which are giving more credence to his recent efforts to soften his views.
What they're saying: "He's got to have a good hearing, address some of the concerns we all know, like vaccine, couple other things like that," Sen. Thom Tillis, who sits on Finance, told reporters Monday.
- "And he has the distinction of having to go through two committees, so we'll see how he does on Wednesday and Thursday," he added.
- The Finance hearing is Wednesday and the HELP hearing is Thursday. Only Finance votes on whether to advance the nomination.
Driving the news: All signs point to a close vote in the full Senate. Kennedy can afford to lose only three Republican senators, assuming Democrats are united in opposition.
- Some GOP senators have said Kennedy's recent efforts to downplay his vaccine criticism have been convincing, but Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a key moderate vote who sits on HELP, said she has questions.
- "I'm certainly concerned about it," she said when asked about his vaccine views. "I know others have other points of concerns that they want to drill down on and try to get some public commitments from him on. Vaccines are important. Get them."
- Sen. Bill Cassidy, who sits on Finance and chairs the HELP Committee, is another closely watched senator.
- He's declined to answer questions about Kennedy in recent days, referring reporters to his office. "Chairman Cassidy is looking forward to the hearings this week," a spokesperson said.
The other side: Some Senate Democrats are issuing harsh warnings about what confirming Kennedy could mean for public health. Yet some others haven't ruled out voting for him, in part given his views on encouraging healthful foods.
- Sens. Tammy Baldwin and Chris Murphy are holding a press conference the morning of the Finance hearing with Hawai'i Gov. Josh Green, a physician who helped respond to a 2019 measles outbreak in Samoa following a visit from Kennedy, during which he met with anti-vaccine figures.
- Baldwin told reporters she is seeking to "make sure that not only other senators but the public are educated on what happened, because he's tried to back off from what actually happened."
Between the lines: Other Democrats are holding their fire and not saying which way they're leaning.
- Sen. Bernie Sanders, the ranking member of the HELP Committee, has not said how he will vote. "I look forward to Mr. Kennedy answering a number of very important questions about his views [at the hearings]," Sanders told reporters Monday.
- Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, a Democrat not usually known for bucking his party, has also not committed.
- "I have not been inclined to telegraph my vote before someone has even had their hearing, so people just need to kind of chill on that a bit," Whitehouse told the Providence Journal, which noted that Kennedy and Whitehouse know each other from law school.
The bottom line: Finance Ranking Member Ron Wyden wouldn't predict whether any Democrats will break for Kennedy.
- "I think on issue after issue, there are potential questions about compromising public health, public safety," Wyden said. "And those are issues that are our breadbasket. I think members feel very strongly about it, it's going to be an important hearing, and we're prepping for it."
Victoria Knight contributed.
