{"id":2396380,"date":"2025-01-29T06:44:09","date_gmt":"2025-01-29T11:44:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/rfk-jr-faces-political-headwinds-going-into-confirmation-hearings-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2025-01-29T06:46:20","modified_gmt":"2025-01-29T11:46:20","slug":"rfk-jr-faces-political-headwinds-going-into-confirmation-hearings-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/rfk-jr-faces-political-headwinds-going-into-confirmation-hearings-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"RFK Jr. faces political headwinds going into confirmation hearings &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Frfk-jr-faces-political-headwinds-going-into-confirmation-hearings-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2396380&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Robert F.Kennedy Jr., nominated by President Donald Trump to lead the Department of Health and Human services (HHS), is <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">facing important challenges ahead<\/a> of his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/top-judiciary-republican-ketanji-brown-jackson-hearing-will-be-different-than-what-they-did-with-kavanaugh\/\" title=\"Top Judiciary Republican: Ketanji Brown Jackson Hearing Will Be Different Than What &#039;They Did with Kavanaugh&#039;\">upcoming confirmation hearings<\/a>. Scheduled for this week, the hearings will\u2063 be conducted by two Senate committees\u2014Finance and\u200d Health, education, labor, and Pensions. Concerns have arisen from senators across the\u200c political spectrum regarding Kennedy&#8217;s history of vaccine skepticism, his promotion of public health conspiracies, and potential\u200c financial\u2064 conflicts of \u200binterest.<\/p>\n<p>Kennedy&#8217;s qualifications have come under scrutiny, especially from his\u200d cousin, \u200dCaroline Kennedy, who wrote a letter to senators labeling him an &#8220;attention-seeking predator&#8221; and questioning his suitability to lead HHS.\u2062 she criticized his lack of relevant\u2063 experience and described his views on vaccines as risky. Senators, including Thom Tillis, have emphasized the importance of addressing these issues to secure their support during the confirmation process.<\/p>\n<p>Kennedy jr. will need to gain support from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/democrats-and-media-enablers-are-overlooking-child-sex-crimes-to-protect-ketanji-brown-jackson\/\" title=\"Democrats And Media Enablers Are Overlooking Child Sex Crimes To Protect Ketanji Brown Jackson\">key republican senators<\/a> to proceed, as he can only afford a limited number of dissenting votes within \u200cthe GOP&#8217;s\u200b narrow majority. the opposition from Democrats is also substantial, \u2062with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer calling Kennedy one of the most dangerous nominees\u2062 for public health. As the hearings approach,\u2063 Kennedy&#8217;s ability to convince \u200bskeptical lawmakers will be crucial\u2064 for his confirmation.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">RFK Jr. faces political headwinds going into contentious confirmation hearings<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1930760\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>President Donald Trump&rsquo;s choice to run the Department of Health and Human Services, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/rfk-jr\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Robert F. Kennedy Jr.\">Robert F. Kennedy Jr.<\/a>, faces confirmation hearings this week that are crucial to the controversial figure&rsquo;s nomination.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>Kennedy is up against concerned senators on both sides of the aisle who are seeking clarity and reassurances about his qualifications, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/3262088\/rfk-jr-vaccine-skepticism-meetings-gop-senators\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"advocacy against vaccines\">advocacy against vaccines<\/a>, promotion of public health conspiracies, and an array of financial conflicts of interest from past roles. <\/p>\n<p>The HHS nominee will field questions from two Senate panels: the Finance Committee on Wednesday and the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee on Thursday.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;He&rsquo;s got to have a good hearing [and] address some of the concerns we all know like vaccines,&rdquo; said Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), who is up for reelection and proved key to confirming Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth last week. &ldquo;He has the distinction to have to convince two committees.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Leading up to his first hearing, Kennedy faced new blistering criticism from a family member: Caroline Kennedy, a cousin to the HHS nominee and former ambassador to Australia under President Joe Biden.<\/p>\n<p>Caroline Kennedy, in a letter to top senators on the committees that will conduct Kennedy Jr.&rsquo;s confirmation hearings, assailed him as an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/healthcare\/3303276\/caroline-kennedy-rfk-jr-attention-seeking-predator\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"attention-seeking &ldquo;predator&rdquo;\">attention-seeking &ldquo;predator&rdquo;<\/a> who is &ldquo;unqualified&rdquo; to lead HHS.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;He lacks any relevant government, financial, management, or medical experience. His views on vaccines are dangerous and willfully misinformed,&rdquo; Caroline Kennedy wrote. &ldquo;These facts alone should be disqualifying. But he has personal qualities related to this position which, for me, pose even greater concern.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>In what she described as a &ldquo;perverse scene of despair and violence,&rdquo; Caroline Kennedy went on to recall how her cousin would &ldquo;put baby chickens and mice in the blender to feed his hawks&rdquo; as an example of his broader character and disposition.<\/p>\n<p>But more vital than the latest criticism from another member of the extensive Kennedy family tree and his fraught standing with Democrats will be his ability to woo on-the-fence Republicans. Kennedy Jr. must advance both committees before a floor vote, where he can afford no more than three rebellions in the GOP&rsquo;s 53-47 majority if all Democrats oppose him.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m a data-driven person,&rdquo; said Tillis, who sits on the Senate Finance Committee and expressed concerns about Kennedy Jr.&rsquo;s anti-vaccine views. &ldquo;All these [nominees] that are making scientific conclusions about certain things need to be backed up with scientific data, and I&rsquo;m assuming he&rsquo;ll be prepared to discuss that.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President-elect Donald Trump&rsquo;s nominee to be secretary of health and human services, arrives to meet with Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024. (AP Photo\/J. Scott Applewhite)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Centrist Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), both of whom voted against Hegseth, sit on the Senate HELP Committee. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), another wild card in Kennedy Jr.&rsquo;s confirmation, chairs the Senate Finance Committee and is also a member of the HELP Committee.<\/p>\n<p>Cassidy, who already faces a primary challenger for reelection, declined to discuss Kennedy Jr. ahead of the hearings. He referred reporters who peppered him with questions to committee staff.<\/p>\n<p>In a statement to the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>, a Cassidy spokesperson would only go so far as to say, &ldquo;Chairman Cassidy is looking forward to the hearings this week.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Kennedy Jr. faces broad opposition from Democrats, particularly those who sit on the two panels that will have the opportunity to grill the nominee.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/3292730\/all-executive-orders-actions-trump-first-day\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">FULL LIST OF EXECUTIVE ORDERS, ACTIONS, AND PROCLAMATIONS TRUMP HAS MADE AS PRESIDENT<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said he was personally unable to &ldquo;recall a nominee more dangerous to the health of Americans than Mr. Kennedy.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;He will pretend as if he&rsquo;s now found religion on vaccines, or that his words have been twisted unfairly, or that he never intended to say he is anti-vaccines,&rdquo; Schumer predicted. &ldquo;Nobody should believe Mr. Kennedy&rsquo;s 11th-hour conversion on vaccines.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1930760\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1930760\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>RFK Jr. faces challenges in crucial confirmation hearings<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3108,"featured_media":2396381,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/rfk-jr-confirmation-hearings.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[47631,49405,5894,32458,32076],"class_list":["post-2396380","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-confirmation-hearings","tag-political-headwinds","tag-politics","tag-rfk-jr","tag-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/rfk-jr-confirmation-hearings.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2396380","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3108"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2396380"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2396380\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2396384,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2396380\/revisions\/2396384"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2396381"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2396380"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2396380"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2396380"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}