WASHINGTON – In the hours that followed The newly elected President Donald Trump declared Vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s choice to serve as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services drew mixed reactions from the senators needed to support his confirmation.
Trump’s Cabinet picks will face Senate confirmation votes — and unconventional picks like Kennedy could face a difficult process in a Republican-controlled Senate with little room for error.
Senator John Thune, RSD, who Republicans chimed in “I don’t have it right now,” he said, declining to react to Kennedy’s choice to be their new leader in the House.
Asked if he would support Kennedy’s confirmation, Thune said the process was “just beginning” and that there would be a “vetting process.”
“I’m not going to make any judgments about any of these people at this point, like I said, it’s a confirmation process that we have to follow the constitution,” Thune said when asked if he thought Kennedy was qualified. “There are committees that will hold hearings, and when the time comes, the records of these candidates will be heavily scrutinized.”
Other Republican senators were immediately enthusiastic about Trump’s choice.
Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., praised Kennedy, though he did not say how he planned the vote. Cassidy is currently the ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee and is considered a candidate to chair the committee in the next Congress.
“I look forward to learning more about his other policy positions and how they will support a conservative, pro-American agenda,” Cassidy said.
Several Republican senators, including Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson, praised Kennedy in tweets to X. calls him Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville, a “brilliant, courageous truth-teller.” Describes Kennedy “an absolutely brilliant choice” and like Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley he noted the announcement saying “Bad day for Big Pharma”.
Many Democrats across the aisle immediately condemned Kennedy’s choice, calling it “dangerous” and “disturbing.”
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said in a statement that “Mr. Kennedy’s unusual views on basic scientific facts are troubling and should concern all parents who expect schools and other public places to be safe for their children.”
Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., In a letter to X, he said that Kennedy had “Dangerous. Unqualified. Frivolous.”
Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md. He named two of Trump’s latest decisions “the definition of insanity,” and Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., blasted Trump’s choice, saying, “It couldn’t be more dangerous.”
“There’s no telling how much an anti-vaxxer and fringe conspiracy theorist like RFK Jr. could set America back in terms of public health, reproductive rights, research and more,” Murray said. Writing for X. “And the implications aren’t theoretical—they’re life-or-death issues.”
Kennedy has repeatedly criticized vaccines broadly exposed false claims that they are related to autism.
NBC News reached out to Trump’s team to comment on criticism of the president-elect’s choice.
But at least one Democrat expressed enthusiasm for Kennedy’s election.
Gov. Jared Polis, D-Colo Send to X he added that he was “thrilled by the news” and that Kennedy would “help make America healthy again by shaking up HHS and the FDA.” He would not have a vote to confirm Kennedy as governor.
Reached for further comment, a police spokeswoman told NBC News that the governor “clarified his tweet.” next postAs Police said, “science must remain the cornerstone of our nation’s health policy.”
“For the avoidance of doubt, I am immunized, as is my family. I will hold any HHS secretary to the same high standard of protecting and improving public health,” Polis said in a later post.
Republicans currently hold 52 seats in the Senate and could pick up another depending on the outcome of the Pennsylvania Senate race. recalculation. NBC News has not yet predicted a winner.
A majority of senators must vote in favor of the candidate for the position to be approved.