Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Monday during his rounds with Republican senators amid revelations that one of his allies had filed a petition in 2022 to strip the vaccine's authorization. , has made it clear that he supports the polio vaccine.
'I'm all for the polio vaccine,' says Health and Human Services secretary nominee told reporters between meetings at the Hart Senate Office Building.
Ahead of the charm offensive by Kennedy's heirs and senators, a resurfaced statement was made by Aaron Siri, the lawyer who served as Kennedy's personal lawyer during his presidential bid. Aim for 2022 He called on the Food and Drug Administration to revoke the approval of the polio vaccine.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who plans to resign from his role this week, contracted polio when he was young, leaving his upper left limb paralyzed.
McConnell, 82, had publicly advised Kennedy to “avoid even the appearance of being associated with such an effort” to revoke the approval of the polio vaccine.
President-elect Donald Trump defended the polio vaccine Monday at a press conference at Mar-a-Lago.
“I'm a big believer in the polio vaccine, and I think everything should be considered, but I'm also a big believer in the polio vaccine,” the 78-year-old president explained.
Republican senators tread carefully
Some of the swing votes for Kennedy's future nomination, including Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), support vaccines and will put Kennedy under scrutiny. has indicated an intention to do so.
They've been largely silent about where they stand on HHS's picks.
Republican senators appear to be refraining from proactively opposing Trump's election for fear of unnecessarily upsetting their base. Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) faced an intense pressure campaign earlier this month after she expressed concerns about Pete Hegseth, her nominee for Pentagon chief.
Eventually she backed out, stating that she would “support Pete through this process.”
“The approach is going to be everyone lining up. If you want to survive, you better be good. Don't get on Santa's naughty list here because we'll prioritize you,” Murkowski said last week. , at a “No Label Party” event, vented his anger about President Trump's antics during the confirmation process.
She later complained that Ernst was being “hanged out to dry” for voicing her concerns.
So far, President Trump's only choice to destroy him is former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Florida), who is tasked with digging up the House Ethics Committee's report on allegations that he paid women. In the midst of this, he withdrew his candidacy for Secretary of Defense. For sexual acts involving minors.
President Kennedy, 70, was scheduled to meet with 20 senators this week. After a series of meetings Monday, Republican senators generally praised him.
“We're finally going to have a secretary of health who wakes up every day and says, 'How can we keep everyone in this country healthy?'” Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) told reporters after the meeting.
“He will have many opportunities to do so. I fully support what he wants to achieve and wish him the best.”
Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) later told reporters that President Kennedy assured him that he was “100 percent in support of polio vaccination.”
abortion
In addition to his skepticism about vaccine safety, Kennedy has also faced concerns from conservative groups over his pro-abortion rights stance.
President Kennedy has shown no signs of changing his mind on this controversial issue. But several Republican senators have indicated they can ignore his position.
“He said he was serving the will of the president of the United States and was going to move policy forward. Well, we know what the president thinks about this,” Marin said of Kennedy's response to abortion. He spoke to reporters about his stance.
Swing senators Collins and Murkowski have long supported abortion rights and are at odds with Republican orthodoxy.
Can Democrats support RFK Jr.?
Kennedy has received some attention from Democrats because he is registered as a Democrat and ran an unsuccessful primary against President Biden in the 2024 election cycle before dropping out and running as an independent.
Although his past comments on vaccines have sparked public concern, Mr. Kennedy has won praise from Democrats for vowing to crack down on the food industry to stamp out unhealthy chemicals.
For example, Sen. Bernie Sanders (Iconic, I-Vt.) said his positions on food policy are “exactly correct,” but criticized his position on vaccines as “extremely dangerous.”
Sen. Cory Booker (Democrat of New Jersey) dropped hint He says he has similar concerns about the food industry.
No Senate Democrat has publicly expressed support for Kennedy. But in the past, bipartisan support for presidential candidates was not uncommon.
