The NYT reports.
For Mr. Cassidy, voting against Mr. Kennedy — and defying President Trump — would have been a politically perilous step. He is up for re-election in 2026 and is already facing a primary challenge from the right....
“I’ve been struggling with your nomination,” Mr. Cassidy said after Mr. Kennedy repeatedly refused to disavow his past criticism of vaccines. The senator told the nominee he was worried that Mr. Kennedy would use his platform as a cabinet secretary to continue to cast doubt on vaccines and that he was too old to change.
“Does a 70-year-old man, 71-year-old man who spent decades criticizing vaccines, and who’s financially invested 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?” Mr. Cassidy asked.
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38 comments:
Democrats who are anti-Democrat or anti-democratic.
Well this won't make Sen. Squawren happy. The man who made this deserves a pulitzer.
That means RFK Jr. will be confirmed. The Republicans wouldn't have voted if they know he'd fail in the full Senate. They'd have let the nomination sit for a month or two before voting.
Yesterday Trump also declared February "American Heart Month," as he ended the recent February tradition of "Black History Month."
You can't hate these Republican Senators enough. They voted for all of Biden's far-left nominees, saying "The President gets to pick his own cabinet", and now that its a Republican President, they're playing hamlet or voting against Trump's picks.
Its nice Cassidy finally voted for Trump's pick, but that should have been automatic. We'll see what happens in the floor vote.
"The Republicans wouldn't have voted if they know he'd fail in the full Senate." No, sorry. They're not that organized.
In Camelot, they’ll learn to eat some crap-a-lot.
republicans NEED to think to themselves..
would *I* vote for this person, *IF* a Democrat President picked him?
(you BET YOUR ASS they would)
Lisa and Susan and Mitch.. If Joe Biden picked RFK or Tulsi.. How would YOU vote?
Be Honest
RFK is right to oppose the "all or nothing" approach we have been taking with vaccines, where we have gotten careless with safety and unconcerned with utility and if you say something, you're labelled a flat-earther.
Not all childhood vaccines are important and we all know they took shortcuts with the COVID vaccine (I got 3 and don't regret it, I consider them better than nothing, but they were oversold and the mandates are a crime against humanity).
In his testimony, RFK portrayed himself as someone who is not against vaccines and will not interfere with long established and important vaccines, but also will not be a rubber stamp for every new shot that comes out with questionable safety data and unclear need.
As the doctor goes so goes the caucas.
So I don't get it. Both RFK and Gabbard are recent nominees for the Democrat presidential candidacy. They both ran on the Democrat side to be their nominee. These two are not "hardcore MAGA" deep conservatives. So why are Democrats so upset by them possibly joining Trump's cabinet? Shouldn't they be cheering the bipartisanship and the "moderating" influence these two will have?
I mean, I don't like Romney, RINO extraordinaire, but if Biden had nominated him for something over, say, Buttigieg, Romney would have been a far better choice from my point of view. RINO or not, he at least has some sanity.... unlike Buttigieg. So why cannot Democrats "take the win" so to speak? Do they want these two to fail and Trump to nominate rock-ribbed hardcore conservatives?
Lemme guess- Senator Fencesitter (doosh- LA) has a nice relationship with the vaccine people?
That means he's in. And that is unfortunate - a big fox in the henhouse. This is the result of an agreement last year between him and Trump, for his campaign support. Trump, the great negotiator, should have negotiated Bobby down to FDA, but he foolishly gave him the big one - HHS - where Bobby can do significant Lefty damage. Problem is, Trump didn't/doesn't give much of a damn about what goes on at HHS - he's got Xi and Putin and the border and the economy to deal with. So, it was, "Sure, Bobby, HHS it is, whatever - just get those votes for me." Very shortsighted. This dyed-in-the-wool Democrat will now have control of a hell of a lot more than sugar drinks and vaccines.
Good
John Henry
Bingo! And the real question is: Why are Republicans not so upset by them possibly joining Trump's cabinet?
He didn't end Black History Month. Trump declared February Black History Month several days ago.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/2025/01/national-black-history-month-2025/
“Sheinbaum, you crazy diamond!”
—— President Donald J. Trump
Figure out a way to make Fauci pay.
Classic. Squawahountas' nostril flair gives her a distinct simian countenance.
Unclear on my part, he ended this stuff inside federal agencies:
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/defense-agency-bans-black-history-month-rcna190189
Its completely irrelevant who runs HHS. That's why Trump nominated him. Its Gabbard and the nominee for FBI director that are the important appointments.
You have hit the nail on the head. The Democratic party is controlled by a cabal at the DNC who requires absolute compliance and loyalty in lockstep with the contradictory policy of extreme diversity and progressivism socially while economically supporting the evil eliteism of the wealthy who don't actually create wealth they just manipulate markets thereby creating the most regressive economic discrepancies in the history of the United States
I see and understand your concerns but my impression so far is that Bobby Jr is going to be a team playing loose cannon.
Life is so much sweeter when you adopt the philosophy that living well is the best revenge.
"Senator Bill Cassidy, the Louisiana Republican and physician who had been on the fence about Mr. Kennedy, cast the deciding vote...."
I hate this math. They all cast deciding votes. Every single one of them.
I hope you're right.
RFK's confirmation process is a real hoarse race.
Lot's of hope and optimism among those of use who have come to dismiss out of hand the "experts" in the FDA, NIH, etc., whose corrupt pronouncements have caused so much damage to the health of Americans. May RFK's team clean out the stables with the same vigor as Trump's team is showing at the USAID, etc. Hopefully, we will end up with experts we can trust again...
Not a single ******* democrat vote. Republicans had best remember that when the shoe is on the other foot. And they had better remember it NOW! Never vote to confirm a Democrat.
Regarding Cassidy, when you're up for reelection in 2026 (next year!) and a billionaire lawyer -- Nicole Shanahan -- starts talking about funding a primary challenger against you if you don't support Mr. Kennedy, that may help focus your mind on finding areas of agreement the nominee.
Why hair on fire? This guy will be handling bird. Flu soon and who better while they hid away any contact to the public of CDC.You know how that went last time.Go Bobby make your family proud oh wait a minute thats not gonna work
During his Senate testimony, RFK Jr was asked if he believed childhood vaccines cause autism. His answer was excellent. He said no one knows what is causing autism, and it needs serious study. If no one knows what causes autism, how can anyone definitively rule out childhood vaccines as a contributing, if perhaps not causal, factor. They're saying that the autism rate is about 1 in 38 today. This is substantially higher than a few decades ago. Several people I know have a child with autism. Part of the increase is no doubt expanded definitions of autism and different means of diagnosis. Still, this should be a very high priority for research to try and determine the cause.
Big Pharma is a major player in DC politics. Their industry gets hundreds of billions in sales every year. They have a history of giving a lot of "campaign contributions" (AKA bribes) to politicians of both sides to ensure favorable legislation. Having someone who distrusts Big Pharma like RFK Jr in charge of HHS is very upsetting to them. It's a big deal. That isn't to say that Gabbard and the FBI nominee aren't very important. I'm just saying that RFK Jr is also important.
Because Democrats are like the server in a restaurant that seats a nice family after church on Sunday, friendly and polite, then spits in their soup because he thinks they're Republican.
They don't have any control over Junior' or Tulsi, which was proven during their short presidential campaigns. If they can't be controlled, they'll never be useful.
I thought Democrats were going to hold up Trump’s nominees because of USAID. Oh right, they don’t have the votes. Democracy in action, baby.
You are seeing the first post-rotation administration. The center left abandoned the Democrats, and many are moving toward Trump. A dominant governing group must tolerate differences a la the "big tent."
The main thing I expect from RFK Jr. is efforts to slay sacred cows and force the professionals to articulate core science rather than ideological propaganda. No one should rely on lazy received wisdom. The truth is an absolute defense, but some of what the establishment says says is correct.
That has been the egotistic Democrat norm since the "Borking" of Robert Bork and the Clarence Thomas confirmation hearings way back in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The Republicans unilaterally bowed down during the Clinton years, making it seem as if there was bipartisan cooperation when there was none. For Trump's confirmations, thank Democrat Harry Reid for nuking the fillibuster in 2013 to allow a simple majority for senate votes.
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