Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is now one step closer to running the nation's healthcare agencies after a Senate panel voted narrowly Tuesday to advance the nomination of President Donald Trump’s controversial pick to serve as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.
The longtime anti-vaccine activist and fringe conspiracy theorist — who has been widely opposed by public health experts and Democrats — could soon be confirmed for a sweeping post to oversee Medicare, Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act (ACA) ; coordinating the public health response to epidemics; and the process of approving pharmaceutical drugs, vaccines and other medical supplies. Kennedy and his supporters insist that he would bring an overdue focus to problems such as chronic disease.
The Senate finance panel vote Tuesday morning fell along party lines, with the panel’s 14 Republicans voting to confirm Kennedy and its 13 Democrats opposed. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana), a physician who had been openly wrestling with whether to support one of the nation’s most prominent vaccine skeptics, opted to vote for Kennedy in a decision that could foreshadow the upcoming vote in front of the Senate.
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