WASHINGTON — Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Donald Trump’s pick as secretary of Health and Human Services, plans to meet with more than two dozen Republican senators on the Hill this week, according to a source familiar with his plans.
The meetings are expected to begin Monday and continue throughout the week. The list includes key new leaders such as Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., and future Senate President Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, whose committee will oversee and vote on Kennedy’s planned appointment.
Kennedy is set to answer questions about his long history of anti-vaccine rhetoric, his views on reforming the health care industry and his support for abortion rights as he meets with Republican senators who largely oppose legal abortion.
“Mr. Kennedy is extremely prepared for a meeting with more than twenty senators this week. He’s energetic, he’s excited to talk about President Trump’s vision to make America whole again,” the source familiar with Kennedy’s plans told NBC News.
Other notable names on Kennedy’s list of expected meetings include moderate Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska; Senator Thom Tillis, R-N.C., who is up for re-election in 2026; and Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., a ranking member of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, who will also review his nomination.
Senate Republicans will have 53 seats as of January 3, meaning they can afford three defections and still confirm Trump’s nominees. A fourth defection would be fatal to a nomination unless some Democrats vote yes. Hearings have not yet been scheduled, but could take place before Trump takes office on January 20; final confirmation votes will have to wait until he is in the White House.
One of the key senators to watch in Kennedy’s confirmation battle is Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. pleases. McConnell, a polio survivor, fired a warning shot Friday in response to a New York Times report that a Kennedy adviser once asked the FDA to revoke approval of the polio vaccine.
“The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives and holds the promise of eradicating a terrible disease,” McConnell said in a statement. “Efforts to undermine public confidence in proven treatments are not just uninformed – they are dangerous.”
A spokesman for Kennedy told the New York Times that he and the adviser in question had not discussed the adviser’s attempt to revoke approval of the polio vaccine. Kennedy spokeswoman Katie Miller told NBC News on Friday: “The polio vaccine must be available to the public and must be thoroughly and well studied.”
Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., said he will have “questions” for Kennedy about his views on abortion.
“Obviously, HHS under the first Trump administration was very clear on the issue of protecting abortion conscience and all those things. But [President Joe] Biden’s team has undone all that,” Lankford said in a recent interview. “Those are questions I’m going to ask.”
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
