Congressional Cowards is a weekly sequence highlighting the worst Donald Trump defenders on Capitol Hill, who refuse to criticize him—regardless of how disgraceful or lawless his actions.
GOP Senators are actually seeing what anybody with half a mind has recognized for months: Well being and Human Providers Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is a harmful quack who places People’ well being in danger.
Well being and Human Providers Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
A number of Republican lawmakers dressed Kennedy down on Thursday throughout a Senate Finance Committee listening to, expressing considerations along with his anti-vaccine insurance policies and his personnel choices.
Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming, an orthopedic surgeon by commerce who forged the deciding vote to substantiate Kennedy, took a web page out of the playbook of Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, saying that he was “concerned” about Kennedy’s stance on vaccines.
“Secretary Kennedy, in your confirmation hearings, you promised to uphold the highest standards for vaccines,” Barrasso mentioned. “Since then, I’ve grown deeply involved. The general public has seen measles outbreaks, management within the Nationwide Institutes of Well being questioning using mRNA vaccines, the just lately confirmed director of Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention fired. People do not know who to depend on.”
After all, simply six months in the past Barrasso was gung-ho for Kennedy, declaring that the Senate ought to affirm him as a result of he’d “make America healthy again.”
Sen. Invoice Cassidy of Louisiana, who was additionally a health care provider earlier than being elected to the Senate, mentioned that Kennedy is making it more durable for individuals to get vaccines, breaking a promise that Cassidy mentioned he made earlier than his affirmation vote.
“We’re denying people vaccine,” Cassidy mentioned on the listening to.
In an effort to justify his clearly wrong-headed resolution to substantiate him, Cassidy mentioned in February that he was assured that Kennedy would guarantee entry to vaccines.
“Now, Mr. Kennedy and the administration reached out seeking to reassure me regarding their commitment to protecting the public health benefit of vaccination. To this end, Mr. Kennedy and the administration committed that he and I would have an unprecedentedly close collaborative working relationship if he is confirmed. We will meet or speak multiple times a month. This collaboration will allow us to work well together and therefore to be more effective,” Cassidy mentioned throughout a speech on the Senate ground, which has now aged like milk within the solar.
In the meantime, Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina additionally lambasted Kennedy for firing Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention Director Susan Monarez only a month after the Senate voted to substantiate her.
“I don’t see how you go over four weeks from ‘a public health expert with unimpeachable scientific credentials, a longtime champion of MAHA values, caring and compassionate, and brilliant microbiologist ‘ and four weeks later fire her,” he mentioned.
Monarez mentioned in a Wall Road Journal op-ed that she was fired as a result of she would not approve the suggestions from a vaccine advisory panel that Kennedy stacked with anti-vax quacks. On the listening to, Kennedy disputed that, ridiculously claiming that Monarez was fired as a result of she advised him that she was not a reliable particular person.
Earlier than voting to substantiate Kennedy, Tillis mentioned that he hoped he would “go wild” when he took the reins of HHS. Seems to be like Tillis bought what he wished for.
On Wednesday, Senate Majority Chief John Thune additionally expressed frustration with Kennedy’s resolution to fireside Monarez.
“Honestly he’s got to take responsibility,” he said. “We confirm these people, we go through a lot of work to get them confirmed.”
After all, it was at all times clear that Kennedy—a mind worm-addled, well-known anti-vaxxer—was going to be a catastrophe for public well being.
“GOP senator votes to confirm anti-vaxxer, is shocked by anti-vax policy,” Democratic Rep. Jake Auchincloss of Massachusetts wrote on X, mocking Barrasso’s shock that Kennedy would implement anti-vax insurance policies.
Finally, Republicans had the prospect to vote towards Kennedy’s affirmation however failed. And whereas it is new for these lawmakers to talk up and criticize Kennedy, their phrases will imply nothing with out motion to take away him from his place.
