Sen. Bill Cassidy, MD (R-La.), said he received numerous pledges from Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the Trump administration to protect medicine and science — particularly regarding vaccines — that clinched his support for the HHS secretary nominee.
Cassidy said Kennedy and the administration promised an “unprecedentedly close collaborative working relationship” that includes the two of them meeting or speaking “multiple times a month.” They also said that Kennedy could appear before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee — which Cassidy currently chairs — quarterly if requested.
Most of the pledges revolved around vaccines, including that Kennedy will work within current approval and safety monitoring systems, and not establish parallel systems. He’ll also maintain recommendations from CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) without changes, and statements that vaccines don’t cause autism won’t be removed from the CDC website.
Kennedy will also not use “subversive techniques … like sue-and-settle to change policies enacted by Congress without first going through Congress,” Cassidy said.
He also noted that Kennedy asked for his input on hiring decisions at HHS beyond Senate-confirmed positions.
Both Kennedy and the administration “committed to a strong role of Congress,” Cassidy said, in part through the meetings with the HELP Committee. The committee chair will also be able to choose a representative on any board or commission formed to review vaccine safety.
In addition, HHS will provide a 30-day notice to the committee if it seeks to make changes to any federal vaccine safety monitoring programs, and the committee will be able to call a hearing on any potential changes to these programs, Cassidy said.
“If Mr. Kennedy is confirmed, I will use my authority as chairman of the Senate committee with oversight of HHS to rebuff any attempt to remove the public’s access to life-saving vaccines without iron-clad, causational scientific evidence that can be accepted and defended before the mainstream scientific community and before Congress,” Cassidy said. “I will watch carefully for any effort to wrongfully sow public fear about vaccines between confusing references of coincidence and anecdote. But my support is built on assurances that this will not have to be a concern, and that he and I can work together to build an agenda to make America healthy again.”
During a press briefing on Tuesday, Georges Benjamin, MD, executive director of the American Public Health Association, said that he was skeptical that Cassidy and Congress would have much say in Kennedy’s decisions.
“Is he going to pick up the phone and call the senator every time he’s about to make a controversial decision? I don’t think so,” Benjamin told reporters. “Even if he does, whose opinion weighs more?” he asked, referring to President Trump.
“If we thought Mr. Kennedy would have a nice kitchen cabinet of advisors to surround him with good advice, that would be one thing. But he has not demonstrated that at all in the past,” Benjamin added. “Any promises that he made to the good senator, he’s going to break those promises. You can take that one to the bank.”
Katelyn Jetelina, PhD, MPH, author of a popular public health newsletter, said during the briefing that she was concerned that Kennedy would still have “many levers” as HHS secretary to continue to sow doubt about vaccines.
“Sure, maybe he won’t pull down the vaccines and autism page on CDC,” she said, “but what he says and how he says it is going to be a big indication to Americans.”
![author['full_name']](https://clf1.medpagetoday.com/media/images/author/kristinaFiore_188.jpg)
Please enable JavaScript to view the