Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has passed his Senate committee vote after two confirmation hearings in a 14-13 vote. President Donald Trump’s nominee to head the Department of Health and Human Services will go on to a full Senate vote next.
The Senate Finance Committee voted on Tuesday to advance Kennedy’s nomination forward after a tense hearing.
The vote was along party lines, but there remained a question about Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and whether or not he would vote to advance Kennedy. He ultimately did despite openly expressing doubts about Kennedy. Cassidy is a physician-turned-lawmaker and he pressed Kennedy during his Senate hearing on whether he would commit to saying there was no connection between autism and vaccines. Kennedy said he would say so only after seeing the studies to back it up, leading to both Cassidy and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) clashing with Trump’s nominee.
With Cassidy the deciding vote for Kennedy in the committee, the nominee and once-presidential candidate could still face several hurdles among Republicans in the Senate, including Sens. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Susan Collins (R-ME), all of whom now-confirmed Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.
“I know the data’s there,” Cassidy told Kennedy during a tussle during the confirmation hearing about vaccines causing autism. Cassidy repeatedly told Kennedy the research showed they do not, and Kennedy insisted he needed to see the research before he committed to that posision.
Cassidy openly said he was unsure of his vote on Kennedy and that they would potentially speak over the weekend.
Watch above via Fox News.
