Senate Finance Committee Is Set To Vote on RFK Jr. This Morning, All Eyes Are on Cassidy

Sen. Bill Cassidy

The Senate Finance Committee is scheduled to vote this morning on the nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as HHS Secretary with Louisiana Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy likely to be the deciding vote.

The committee has 14 Republicans and 13 Democrats. All the Democrats are expected to vote against Kennedy. If Cassidy were to join them, the result would mean that Kennedy had failed to get a favorable recommendation from the committee. That outcome would significantly dent Kennedy’s confirmation chances but wouldn’t end them completely as are some maneuvers that Republicans could use to bring Kennedy’s nomination to a full vote of the Senate.

Some news reports this morning said Cassidy might decide to vote for Kennedy today, expressing his reservations but taking the position that the full Senate should decide the fate of his nomination, not just the Senate finance committee

Cassidy is up for reelection next year and a vote against RFK Jr. today could further fuel primary challenge — he already has a challenger — and possibly end to Cassidy’s political career. Cassidy now voices support for President Donald Trump, but he was one of the seven Republicans who voted to convict him during his Senate impeachment trial after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack at the U.S. Capitol.

The finance committee hearing to consider Kennedy’s nomination is scheduled to start at 10 a.m. this morning. You can watch it here.

Kennedy, the 71-year-old scion of the famous Kennedy family, was asked about Medicaid, abortion, the safety of the U.S. food supply and other matters last week during two hearings to consider his nomination, one before the finance committee and the other before Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, which Cassidy chairs. But it was his views on the vaccines that garnered the most attention, especially during the HELP committee meeting on Jan. 30. Kennedy has said recently he is not antivaccine and has emphasized that his own children have been vaccinated. But he has made many numerous public statements on podcasts, in books and elsewhere questioning the efficacy and safety of vaccines and built a public profile centered in the antivaccine movement and organizations.

Although the HELP committee held a hearing, it is today's finance committee vote today that will determine whether Kennedy gets approval at the committee level.

Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Ron Wyden of Oregon have also raised questions about the honesty of Kennedy’s ethics disclosures about the financial interests he has in a lawsuit against Merck based on allegations that the company hid safety concerns about Gardasil, the company’s vaccine against human papillomavirus.

Cassidy earned his medical degree at Louisiana State University medical school and was practicing gastroenterologist before entering politics. His Senate biography highlights that he led a campaign in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to vaccinate children against hepatitis B. During the HELP hearing, Cassidy asked Kennedy to take stand on whether the measles and hepatitis B vaccines cause autism. Kennedy declined to do so, answered that he would if he was shown data that supported the lack of causation.

At the conclusion of the hearing, Cassidy said he was struggling with Kennedy’s nomination: 

“Does a 70 year old man — 71-year-old man who has spent decades criticizing vaccines and who is financially vested 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. Will you continue what you have been, or will you overturn [sic] a new leaf at age 70?”

Cassidy posted a Bible verse on X on Sunday that said “Joshua said to them: ‘Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Be strong and courageous. This is what the Lord will do to all the enemies you are going to fight.”

CNN reported late yesterday that Cassidy told reporters he was still undecided about his vote on Kennedy.