Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has split with President Donald Trump, saying Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. must restore public trust by grounding decisions in science.
Kennedy "has a responsibility and obligation to restore and return the trust of the American people and the decision-making process there," Thune told CNN on Tuesday, and the way "to do that is to make sure that the decisions are grounded in science."
Trump on Monday warned that pregnant women should limit the use of acetaminophen over claims of a link to autism, stating during an announcement: "Don't take Tylenol. Don't take it. Fight like hell not to take it."
Thune told CNN that "science ought to guide these discussions, these conversations, and our decision-making around our health" and that there "an awful lot of people in the medical community who come to a different conclusion about the use of Tylenol."
"And so I think that, you know, obviously, my view is we ought to be very guarded in making broad assertions and, and make sure that they are well grounded in, in science and medicine and where we're taking the consultation advice of experts in the field and ensuring that these things are all well-documented," he added.
On the subject of free speech following ABC's suspending Jimmy Kimmel and then reinstating him, Thune told CNN he thought that "any decisions that are made with respect to programming ought to be made by the companies."
"Obviously, individual networks are making some of these decisions based on their criteria. In most cases, I assume that's going to be economic decisions based on ratings and revenue and that sort of thing.
"But, yeah, coercive use of government shouldn't be something that is used. I think there were examples, obviously, in the previous administration, where the Biden administration put pressure on social media platforms that were communicating news and information to the American people.
"So ... in any circumstance the answer is these ought to be decisions left to the marketplace. Now ... having said that, broadcast companies operate on public airwaves that are owned by the American people, which comes with a higher level of responsibility, obviously, and certain requirements that they have to live under when it comes to the agency that oversees that, which is the FCC [Federal Communications Commission]."
Kimmel was booted off the air last week on the same day the network suspended him for comments that angered supporters of slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Those stations kept him off the air Tuesday, when ABC lifted the suspension.
The unusual dispute attracted the attention of U.S. senators, who said they wanted to investigate the relationship between the affiliates and Trump's administration.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.