Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s vaccine skepticism is not the only red flag for Republican senators on Capitol Hill who will decide his fate in President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet.
After Trump’s nominee to lead the Department of Health and Human Services finished his second day of meetings, senators raised questions about his views on industrial agriculture and abortion.
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While Kennedy’s focus on cracking down on ultraprocessed food is gaining positive traction in both parties, his criticism over the use of seed oils and pesticides in the food and agriculture industry is making waves with farm-state Republicans. He has also previously called hog farms a terrorist threat, which has emerged as another sticking point.
“Our farmers and ranchers are doing the best job in the world, but they’ve got to be able to use modern farming techniques,” said Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND), who represents a state that generates billions in revenue from agriculture every year.
“That involves a lot of things, not only really sophisticated equipment but also fertilizers and pesticides and things like that,” he told reporters Tuesday. “So, we have to have that conversation.”
The concerns are notable as Republicans will hold a 53-47 majority in the new year, and just a few “no” votes against the former Democrat and nephew to former President John F. Kennedy could sink his nomination.
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), a member of the Senate Finance Committee, which will vote to advance Kennedy’s nomination for HHS secretary to the Senate floor after a confirmation hearing, said he has received calls from agriculture industry experts who are concerned about Kennedy’s views on GMOs, pesticides and fertilizers.
“We have to look at it,” Tillis said. “The reality is that there are certain things that you have to do to feed the world.”
Kennedy challenged Trump for the presidency, but in the final days of the 2024 campaign, Trump brokered a truce. Kennedy endorsed Trump over Vice President Kamala Harris and fought to remove his name from swing-state ballots to avoid siphoning off votes from Trump. In return, Kennedy said Trump “promised” him control of public health agencies in a second Trump administration.
Trump has tried to distance himself from some of Kennedy’s green environmental stances and vaccine theories, telling reporters Monday that he stands by the polio vaccine and that Kennedy will be “much less radical than you would think.”
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), one of only two farmers in the Senate, said he has some problems with statements Kennedy has made about pigs, GMO corn, and soybeans. When he speaks with Kennedy, the Iowa senator said he intends to inform him about how advancements in farming have affected his own farm in New Hartford, Iowa.
“When I started farming in 1960, we raised 50 bushels of corn to the acre,” Grassley told reporters Tuesday. “Now, we raise, on an annual average, about 200 in Iowa. A lot more than that.
“And you can’t feed 9 billion people on the face of the earth if we don’t take advantage of genetic engineering,” he added.
Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) met with Kennedy on Monday and predicted that he would get confirmed. He said he felt comfortable with the nominee’s stances on agriculture, as a rancher.
“I came off a ranch today, we have a lot of cattle, we have a lot of land, our family has had cattle in that area since the late 1930s,” Mullin said. “The idea that he’s trying to get to is: Let’s go back to the natural fertilization rather than putting chemicals back there, and we can dive into that.
“I don’t know if that’s a conversation you want to go into right here but why aren’t we using nature’s own gift for fertilizing instead of putting the chemicals into it which is running into our streams and our food supply,” Mullin said.
Kennedy is also facing scrutiny from conservatives for his previous support for abortion rights. The former independent presidential candidate has said abortion should be legal until a fetus “is viable outside the womb” and supports the codification of Roe v. Wade.
“I definitely plan to ask about that,” said Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL) “There are a ton of my friends that are excited about making better and healthier choices for kids. When it comes to [abortion], we will want to see a preservation of the Hyde amendment,” which bars the use of federal funds for abortion.
Tillis also said he intends to speak with Kennedy about abortion and stressed that he has not formed an opinion on the nomination yet because he has not met with him.
“Another legitimate question, I don’t know — I’ve only heard what’s been reported, and I am consistently and unapologetically pro-life since I was a member of the state legislature,” Tillis said.
Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) said he is unclear on what the nominee to lead HHS actually stands for.
“I don’t know what’s in his heart and what he really believes, because he said so much stuff, some of which sounds like he’s from outer space,” the Louisiana Republican said.
Others who have met with the longtime environmental lawyer said he vowed to support Trump’s abortion policy as a member of the Cabinet.
“He said he serves at the will of the president of the United States and he’ll be pushing his policies forward,” Mullin said. “We know where the president is on this, he’s been very clear on it. I think it’s a solid answer.”
In his meetings with senators, Kennedy has downplayed his vaccine skepticism and his endorsement of debunked theories that vaccines cause autism and other chronic diseases. He has told senators he does not plan to take away vaccines but instead will promote transparency. His nomination became even more divisive after reports that one of his allies attempted to petition the government to revoke its approval of the polio vaccine.
Even after Kennedy told reporters yesterday that he is “all for the polio vaccine,” some GOP senators, including Louisiana’s Kennedy, said the lawyer’s actions were “bone deep down to the marrow stupid.”
“He should fire his lawyer, the one that petitioned the FDA to get rid of the polio vaccine,” Sen. Kennedy said. “He should call him, call his lawyer up, and say, ‘Look man, stop dipping into your ketamine stash.’ The polio vaccine has saved hundreds and hundreds of lives in the world.”
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), a key swing vote who plans to meet with Kennedy later this week, said she has many questions, especially since he has come out saying he supports keeping the polio vaccine.
“I guess it begs the question, is it just that one vaccine or kind of where is it coming from more broadly,” Murkowski told CNN. “So, those are the conversations that I think are important for me to have with him, because I do think that vaccines save lives.”
Tillis emphasized that Kennedy was not doing himself any favors in the confirmation process by either not discussing his views on vaccines in meetings with GOP senators or watering them down.
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“These nominees need to be prepared for the confirmation hearing where everything needs to be aired and it could influence some members who may be in the Republican conference who have one concern or another that’s not being adequately addressed,” Tillis said.
“I’m encouraging all the nominees to hit the public perceptions, to hit the tough issues at the front end of the meeting and give us a sense that you’re going to have a good answer when you are before the committee,” he added.
