Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) said he secured significant concessions from the Trump administration on vaccine safety that led to his vote Tuesday morning to advance the nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Cassidy voted with all other Finance Committee Republicans on Tuesday to advance Kennedy’s nomination to the floor.
Speaking on the Senate floor, Cassidy said Kennedy and the administration reached out “seeking to reassure me regarding their commitment to protecting the public health benefit of vaccination.”
To that end, Cassidy said the White House and Kennedy pledged to maintain a key federal advisory board; to work within the established, existing vaccine safety systems; and to give Cassidy input on HHS hiring decisions.
“My expectation that we can have a great working relationship to make America healthy again is the basis of my support,” Cassidy said.
Cassidy said Kennedy committed to appearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee on a quarterly basis if requested. He also pledged to allow the committee chair to choose a representative on any board or commission formed to review vaccine safety.
If Kennedy is confirmed, Cassidy said HHS will provide a 30-day notice to the HELP Committee if the agency seeks to make changes to any federal vaccine safety monitoring programs.
Cassidy said the committee will have the option to call a hearing “to further review the commitments” if warranted.
Cassidy said the administration also agreed not to remove statements on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website pointing out that vaccines do not cause autism.
Cassidy was the pivotal vote for Kennedy’s nomination. During a confirmation hearing last week, he said had serious doubts about whether Kennedy, a longtime anti-vaccine activist, is qualified to lead the agency, primarily over his history of promoting a false link between vaccines and autism.
Cassidy spent more than 30 years as a gastroenterologist before becoming a politician. He said on Thursday he was “struggling” with his vote, before ultimately voting to advance the nomination.
