Dr. Deborah Birxformer White House coronavirus response coordinator said Sunday she is “excited” about the data on key health issues that will emerge during Senate confirmation hearings for Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.President-elect Donald Trump’s controversial choice for Secretary of Health and Human Affairs, who has spread false information about vaccines and autism.
“I’m actually excited that at a Senate hearing he would put forward his data and that the senators’ questions would bring out their data.” Birx said on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan“What I know for sure is that he’s a very smart man who can present his data and evidence, and we can have a discussion that many Americans already think is a problem.”
President-elect Donald Trump Announced Thursday in a social media post that he will nominate Kennedy to oversee the multi-agency Department of Health and Human Services, which has a $1 trillion budget. The position must be approved by the Senate, which will be controlled by Republicans in January, which could make the nomination process easier but is not a guarantee.
“I am very pleased to welcome Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to be announced as U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS),” Trump wrote in a social media post last week. He said Americans have been “crushed by the food industrial complex and pharmaceutical companies that have engaged in deception, disinformation and misinformation” about public health, and that Kennedy would “make America great and healthy again!”
At a meeting in October, Trump promised to “let go” of Kennedy on health issues.
Kennedy has criticized vaccines extensively in the past, including spreading misleading claims about their safety. He has also promised that tackling an ‘epidemic’ of chronic diseases and believes that big pharmaceutical and food companies are responsible for a wide range of ills. Kennedy says a number of health problems have worsened in the US, including autism, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, sleep disorders, infertility rates, diabetes and obesity, which he blames on federal inaction.
Kennedy has insisted he is not “anti-vaccine” and has pledged not to ban vaccines under the Trump administration. Kennedy instead vows to “restore transparency” around vaccine safety data and the records he captured accuses HHS officials of hiding. This data is expected to be addressed during the upcoming confirmation hearings in Congress, a dialogue from which Birx said she believes Americans will benefit from learning more about the different perspectives on vaccine concerns.
“So until we can have that transparency and that open discussion on both sides, I know the members have great staffers who will bring great questions from their constituents, and that hearing would be a way for Americans to really see the data where you you’re working on. talking about,” Birx said on Sunday.
Dr. Peter Marks, the FDA’s top vaccine official, said at an event hosted by the Milken Institute last week Trump’s decision that he hopes to find common ground with Kennedy and that he is also open to a conversation based on data.
“What I would ask of him is that he keep an open mind. We like to try to show as much data as possible. And I think the data is essentially overwhelming in certain areas, but we’ll just do it.” must enter into dialogue,” says Marks.
If confirmed by the Senate, Kennedy will be in charge of a massive portfolio, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services.
Birx said Sunday that Kennedy, who ran for president this year but has never held public office and already is faced with criticism Due to his qualifications, he would benefit from having an experienced team around him from the medical industry.
“So if we actually have a management person on his side, a chief of staff, maybe that really comes from the industry and knows how to bring together and look and bring together those individuals who run the other agencies because… HHS is probably one of our most complicated departments,” says Birx.
