WASHINGTON — In the hours after President-elect Donald Trump announced that vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. his choice was to serve as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, mixed reactions began pouring in from the senators needed to support his confirmation. .
Trump’s Cabinet selections will face confirmation votes in the Senate — and unconventional picks like Kennedy could face a bumpy process in a Republican-controlled Senate with little room for error.
Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., who Republicans tapped as their new leader in the House, declined to comment on Kennedy’s selection, saying, “I don’t have one at this time.”
Thune dodged whether he would support Kennedy’s confirmation, saying the process “has only just begun” and adding that there would be “a vetting process.”
“I’m not going to pass any judgment on these people at this point, as I said. It’s a confirmation process that we have to abide by constitutionally,” Thune said, when asked if he thinks Kennedy is qualified. “There are committees that are going to be holding hearings, and there will be plenty of oversight of the records of these nominees when the time comes.”
Other Republican senators were immediately enthusiastic about Trump’s choice.
Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., praised Kennedy in a statement, though he did not say how he planned to vote. Cassidy is currently the ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and is considered a candidate for chairman of the committee in the next Congress.
“I look forward to learning more about his other policy positions and how they will support a conservative, pro-American agenda,” Cassidy said.
Several Republican senators praised Kennedy in posts at a “bad day for Big Pharma.”
Across the aisle, many Democrats immediately condemned Kennedy’s selection, characterizing it as “dangerous” and “troubling.”
“Mr. Kennedy’s outlandish views on basic scientific facts are disturbing and should concern all parents who expect schools and other public spaces to be safe for their children,” Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said in a statement.
Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., said in a message to X that Kennedy was “dangerous.” Unqualified. Not seriously.”
Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., called two of Trump’s recent decisions “the definition of insanity,” and Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., denounced Trump’s selection, saying, “This couldn’t be more dangerous.” ‘
“There’s no telling to what extent an anti-vaxxer and fringe conspiracy theorist like RFK Jr. could bring America back in public health, reproductive rights, research and more,” Murray wrote in a message to X. “And the consequences are not theoretical, they are matters of life and death.”
Kennedy has repeatedly criticized vaccines, pushing widely debunked false claims that they are linked to autism.
NBC News has reached out to Trump’s team for comment on criticism of the president-elect’s selection.
But at least one Democrat expressed enthusiasm for Kennedy’s selection.
Colorado Governor Jared Polis, a Democrat, said in a message to As governor, he will have no say in Kennedy’s nomination.
When reached for further comment, a spokesperson for Polis pointed out to NBC News that the governor had “clarified his tweet” in a later post, in which Polis said that “science must remain THE cornerstone of our nation’s health policy.”
“In case there is any doubt, I have been vaccinated, as has my family. I will hold every HHS secretary to the same high standard of protecting and improving public health,” Polis added in the later message.
Republicans currently hold 52 seats in the Senate, and may gain another seat depending on the outcome of the Senate battle in Pennsylvania, which is headed to a recount. NBC News has not yet announced the winner.
A majority of senators must vote in favor of a nominee to affirm the position.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
