The Senate Finance Committee on Feb. 4 voted 14-13, along party lines, to advance the nomination of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary-designate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., JD, to the full Senate. The vote followed hearings on the nomination held by the Senate Finance Committee and the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee [refer to Washington Highlights, Jan. 31].
In his opening remarks, Committee Chair Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) spoke in support of Kennedy’s nomination and encouraged his committee colleagues to vote favorably. “He has spent his career fighting to end America's chronic illness epidemic and has been a leading advocate for health care transparency, both for patients and for taxpayers.”
Committee Democrats reiterated concerns about Kennedy’s previous comments on vaccine safety, expressing that these concerns led them to oppose his nomination. Sen. Bill Cassidy, MD (R-La.), who echoed his Democratic colleagues’ concerns, ultimately voted to advance the nomination. Prior to voting, Cassidy said that “Kennedy and the administration reached out seeking to reassure me regarding their commitment to protecting the public health benefit of vaccination.”
The Senate voted along party lines Feb. 6 on a procedural motion to advance Kennedy’s nomination for consideration by the full Senate as soon as next week.
- Washington Highlights