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Senate Republicans could block Trump from putting RFK Jr. in the Cabinet

Updated Oct 30, 2024, 12:20pm EDT
politics
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
USA Today Network via Reuters Connect
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Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says Donald Trump “has promised” him control of government health care agencies, but he’s unlikely to wield it from the Cabinet.

The vaccine critic has little chance of winning the Senate confirmation that’s required to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration or any other health-related agency — even if Republicans are in charge. That means Kennedy’s best shot at a major role in a Trump administration is as a White House adviser or czar, something that the former president has not ruled out.

Trump aides say privately that they won’t know how possible a Kennedy confirmation would be until after the election, given the uncertain makeup of Congress. The Senate may be narrowly divided in 2025, which would force Trump to spend major political capital to get the former third-party candidate confirmed to the Cabinet.

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Trump campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said in a statement that the former president, if he wins next week, would join Kennedy “by providing families with safe food and ending the chronic disease epidemic plaguing our children.”

She added that Trump also plans to create “a special Presidential Commission of independent minds” to look into “the decades-long increase in chronic illnesses” — a potential place for Kennedy to land.

Yet others in Trump’s circle are pushing for a confirmation battle over Kennedy, who has baselessly called the Covid vaccine the “deadliest vaccine ever made” and supported other anti-vaccine efforts. One person close to the GOP nominee’s campaign told Semafor there “is appetite at the highest levels of the Trump campaign to take on a fight to get Kennedy confirmed.”

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Tapping Kennedy for a Senate-confirmed position next year with a small GOP majority would force Trump’s team into a political sideshow as it tries to stock a Cabinet, avoid a debt default and pursue other major priorities. Three congressional aides said on Wednesday that Kennedy would be difficult to confirm under a Republican Senate, particularly in any role that’s overseen by the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.

That committee counts two key moderate Republican members, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who are comfortable opposing Trump nominees they dislike. Kennedy would also have to win over the potential chairman Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, a wonky doctor who joined Collins and Murkowski in voting to convict Trump during his second impeachment trial.

The party in control of the Senate can confirm nominees unilaterally, but controversial ones can still be a brutal slog to approve. Kennedy might even be bottled up in committee due to the makeup of the health panel, never getting to a floor vote. One Republican aide “highly” doubted the confirmation prospects of Kennedy.

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“There’s some deference afforded to an incoming president, but I don’t think [Kennedy] would be a shoo-in,” another Republican aide said.

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Trump and President Joe Biden both learned how painful confirmation fights get in a closely divided Senate, watching nominees fail thanks to just one or two key senators. Trump’s first health secretary Tom Price was also plagued by scandal and resigned early, giving Democrats an early chance to portray his presidency as chaotic.

Kennedy would animate Democrats more than Price, a former congressman whose private travel scandals forced his resignation after less than a year. While Kennedy has asserted he is “not anti-vaccine,” he’s well-known for falsely criticizing vaccines and promoting unfounded health theories, not to mention dumping a dead bear in Central Park.

“The prospect of anti-science conspiracy theorist RFK Jr. controlling our public health agencies should terrify anyone who cares about Americans’ wellbeing,” Lis Smith, a Democratic National Committee communications advisor, told Semafor. “He’s the last person who should be anywhere near the agencies charged with keeping Americans safe and healthy.”

Brian Hughes, a Trump campaign senior advisor, said that “it is premature to speculate about positions in an administration, but President Trump will select the best people to serve.”

The independent candidate turned Trump endorser caused a stir over his own potential government positions during an organizing call on Monday night. He made clear he sees himself as a key contributor to a potential Trump organization, saying Trump has committed to handing him “control of the public health agencies, which are HHS and then sub-agencies” such as the FDA, Centers for Disease Control and National Institutes of Health.

Kennedy then referred to the need to wean America off “seed oils” used for cooking, as well as “pesticide-intensive agriculture,” indicating he’d be looking to hold sway over the US Department of Agriculture. Further, he hinted that he’d “reorient NIH” to focus on “autism rates” and various chronic diseases.

The Trump campaign has leaned into Kennedy’s focus on childhood health (without fully embracing his more unorthodox views) ever since he came on board two months ago. Trump and his team now incorporate the “Make America healthy again” (or “MAHA”) slogan into rally speeches, hoping in part to appeal to Kennedy’s wellness-focused supporters.

And Trump backers don’t seem too concerned about Kennedy’s vaccine rhetoric. Back in September, one person close to Trump suggested the drawbacks of Kennedy’s views are overstated.

“If anything, he only has upside, because the mainstream media has been so negative about him on this one topic. And when he starts talking about all these other things that he focuses on, it’s all upside,” this person argued.

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