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WASHINGTON — Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) left the Senate floor on Tuesday after delivering a speech about his negotiations with the White House over the appointment of anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
to serve as secretary of Health and Human Services. As a committee member, Cassidy had the power to block Kennedy from a full Senate vote but voted to confirm him despite his reservations. Speaking to Raw Story on Tuesday, Cassidy said each HHS nominee brings strengths to the position.
ALSO READ: Senator: RFK Jr. lied about vaccines like Brett Kavanaugh lied about Roe v. Wade "Alex Azar knew a heck of a lot about pharmaceutical development but probably not so much about NIH or something else," said Cassidy.
Cassidy said the lower cabinet officials and department lieutenants were good and would help Kennedy when he was weaker on issues. Despite further probes from reporters, Cassidy said that his statement on the floor "is about as far as I want to go." Raw Story followed up by asking if Cassidy truly did not have any concerns that Kennedy would change the country's policy on vaccines.
He didn't say "yes" or "no." He simply answered, "I think my floor speech speaks to that." Last year, when President Joe Biden was still in office, the House Appropriations Committee advanced legislation that would gut the department's funding.
Among the items cut are funding for domestic HIV programs, tobacco prevention, teen pregnancy prevention programs, and Title X family planning grants. It would also kill all federal funding for gender-affirming care. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s "injury prevention program" and "opioid overdose prevention and surveillance initiative" would also be defunded entirely under that bill.
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