As Thursday’s confirmation hearing for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. came to a close, Senate Heath Committee Chair Bill Cassidy, R-La., said he is “struggling” with the decision to confirm the Health and Human Services secretary nominee.
The Hill reported that Cassidy, who is a doctor, entreated Kennedy several times to publicly state that vaccines do not cause autism, saying that “would have an incredible impact.”
But Kennedy, an environmental lawyer turned vaccine skeptic, would not renounce his views, saying instead that “if the data is there, I will absolutely do that.”
According to The Associated Press, Kennedy’s refusal to reject theories that routine childhood vaccinations cause autism clearly disturbed Cassidy.
“If there’s any false note, any undermining of a mama’s trust in vaccines, another person will die from a vaccine preventable disease,” Cassidy said.
The Louisiana Republican also admonished the HHS nominee for using his “megaphone” to create public mistrust of vaccines.
“A worthy movement called MAHA,” Cassidy told Kennedy, according to The Hill. “To improve the health of Americans, or to undermine it, always asking for more evidence, never accepting the evidence that is there? That is why I have been struggling with your nomination.”
Thursday’s three-hour hearing, the second in two days, was reportedly less critical than Wednesday’s because, unlike the Senate Finance Committee, the Health Committee won’t vote on advancing Kennedy’s nomination. However, Cassidy sits on both committees and is considered a key Republican vote.
If Kennedy’s nomination is rejected by all Democrats, he can only afford to lose three Republican votes on the Senate floor.
Although Kennedy spent the two hearings trying to reassure senators he is not “anti-vaccine,” Cassidy questioned whether someone like Kennedy, who has spent his career critical of the nation’s vaccine program, could change his perspective.
“Does a 70-year-old man, 71-year-old man, who spent decades criticizing vaccines, and who’s financially vested in finding fault with vaccines — can he change his attitudes and approach now that he’ll have the most important position influencing vaccine policy in the United States?” Cassidy asked.
The AP reported that Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., also raised concerns about Kennedy’s financial stake in a lawsuit against the makers of the Gardasil cervical cancer vaccine.
Kennedy’s financial disclosure forms reportedly state that he still plans to collect fees in cases referred to the law firm in a case against the vaccine.
“How can folks who need to have confidence in federal vaccine programs trust you to be independent and science-based when you stand to gain significant funding if lawsuits against vaccine manufacturers are successful?” Kaine asked.
Kennedy responded that he has relinquished his financial rights in the case. Last year he made $850,000 from the deal, according to the AP.