Senate Finance Committee advances RFK Jr.'s nomination for health secretary

[Calista241]

Source: MSNBC

The Senate Finance Committee voted along party lines Tuesday to advance Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s nomination for health secretary to the full Senate, putting the longtime anti-vaccine activist a step closer to becoming the country's top public health official.

Kennedy’s nomination cleared the committee with a key “yes” vote from Louisiana Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy, a physician who had said publicly that he was “struggling” with Kennedy’s anti-vaccine stance. All 14 GOP members of the committee voted in favor of Kennedy while all 13 Democratic members voted against him.

Although Kennedy denied and deflected when asked during his two hearings about his long record of anti-vaccine statements, he refused to say he believed in the established science that vaccines do not cause autism.

“Does a 70-year-old man, 71-year-old man who spent decades criticizing vaccines, and who’s financially invested in finding fault with vaccines — can he change his attitudes and approach now that he’ll have the most important position influencing vaccine policy in the United States?” Cassidy said on Wednesday. “I’ve got to figure that out for my vote.”



Read more: https://www.msnbc.com/top-stories/latest/rfk-jr-senate-finance-committee-vote-health-secretary-nomination-rcna190575

[Turbineguy]

1. Republican senators to America:

"Millions of you will die, so I don't get primaried"

[bluestarone]

2. Every Democratic senator please STALL

This BULLSHIT!!

[hueymahl]

3. It's all kabuki theater at this point

Maybe we can slow things down a week or two, but all the nominees are getting confirmed.

[Paladin]

4. I hate to pin my hopes on a Louisiana Republican doing the proper thing.

I'd love it if Bill Cassidy surprised me on this life-and-death matter. This country needs rfk jr. about as much as we need Elon Musk.

What an absolute clusterfuck this new administration is, in just its first few days. Glad to see some action starting up from Democrats in D.C.; hope it's not too late.

[mojo2012]

5. Many of these GOP senators must be old enough to be grandparents

It is very sad that they made the conscious decision to put Trump over the future lives of their grandchildren. All for fear of being primaried? Really?

[Paladin]

6. I'm a grandparent, myself.

Contemplating the sort of world my grandkids may grow up in makes me want to puke.

[sabbat hunter]

8. he already

voted yes on him in committee.

[thesquanderer]

10. It is possible (if unlikely) for someone to vote yes in committee, but vote no when it comes to the floor.

One could conceivably take the position of "I'm willing to let this reach the floor so that everyone can vote, but I, personally, will not vote for him."

[sabbat hunter]

11. Not in this case

because he has already said that RFK jr has placated his fears, and will vote for him on the floor of the Senate.

[sabbat hunter]

7. another 50-50

vote in the senate with the tie broken by the couch fucker?

[Lulu KC]

9. I suddenly feel like I missed a chapter in Civics class

Pardon my ignorance. Why is this appointment in the finance committee? Have all the appointments been in the finance committee? I will probably figure this out on my own in the next 15 minutes and feel dumb, but it's not adding up.

They only need ONE Republican to say no in "the committee" and all this time I thought it was a committee related to the actual appointment's role.