RFK Jr. Clears Senate Committee Vote With the Support of Cassidy, Though Critical Holdouts Are Silent
With Kennedy comes, ‘the opportunity to make progress on the issues we agree on like healthy foods and a pro-American agenda,’ Cassidy said.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will receive a vote on the Senate floor to become the next secretary of health and human services after Senator Cassidy — a doctor who was concerned about Mr. Kennedy’s vaccine skepticism — offered his support on Tuesday morning. There are, however, a number of other Republican senators who have not yet said how they will vote on Mr. Kennedy’s nomination on the final vote.
The Kennedy scion was grilled by members of both the Senate Finance Committee and the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee in recent days for his vaccine skepticism, his potential role in rolling back authorizations for the abortion pill, and his streams of income from suing pharmaceutical companies. Mr. Cassidy was one of the few Republicans to press Mr. Kennedy on the vaccine issue, and when the nominee refused to say explicitly that the measles vaccine did not cause autism, the Louisiana senator seemed troubled.
He would ultimately offer his support to Mr. Kennedy after a number of conversations with the White House and with the nominee himself as late as Tuesday morning.
“I’ve had very intense conversations with Bobby and the White House over the weekend and even this morning,” Mr. Cassidy said. “With the serious commitments I’ve received from the administration and the opportunity to make progress on the issues we agree on like healthy foods and a pro-American agenda, I will vote yes.”
Speaking on the Senate floor after the committee vote, Mr. Cassidy said, “The most notable opponents of Mr. Kennedy were pediatricians on the front lines of our children’s health, who regularly have to combat misinformation. Mr. Kennedy and the administration reached out seeking to reassure me. … To this end, Mr. Kennedy and the administration committed that he and I would have an unprecedentedly close, working relationship if he is confirmed.”
“This collaboration will allow us to work well together,” the senator said.
Some members of the Democratic caucus had held their cards close to their chests on whether or not they would vote for Mr. Kennedy to be confirmed, though ultimately none supported him in the Finance Committee vote on Tuesday. Senator Sanders told reporters to “be patient” when asked Monday if he would back Mr. Kennedy. Senator Whitehouse — a longtime friend of Mr. Kennedy who was his roommate in law school and attended his wedding — also did not rule out voting for the nominee. Both men ended up voting no on Tuesday.
Another key swing Republican vote, Senator Tillis, supported Mr. Kennedy in the committee vote after withholding judgment for weeks.
“I hope he goes wild,” Mr. Tillis said on Tuesday. “I hope he goes wild on food safety discussions … I hope he goes wild on the healthcare supply chains.”
Still, there are some Republicans who have not yet made their intentions known on Mr. Kennedy’s nomination. Senator Murkowski, Senator Collins, and Senator McConnell, who all voted against Secretary Hegseth to lead the Pentagon, have been silent on how they will vote on Mr. Kennedy. The new lawmaker from Utah, Senator Curtis, has also not commented on Mr. Kennedy’s nomination. It would take just four Republicans and all Democrats to sink one of President Trump’s nominees.
There is already an outside pressure campaign against those senators — Democrat and Republican — to vote for Mr. Kennedy on the floor.
Mr. Kennedy’s former independent vice presidential candidate, billionaire Nicole Shanahan, has said she will spend money against anyone who does not support her former running mate.
“In 2020, I cut large checks to Chuck Schumer to help Democrats flip two Senate seats in Georgia from red to blue. The two candidates I helped elect — Senator Raphael Warnock and Senator Jon Ossoff — please know that I will be watching your votes very closely,” she said in a video posted to X. “I will make it my personal mission that you lose your seats in the Senate if you vote against the future health of America’s children.”