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Some Senate Democrats are said to be open to confirming Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Donald Trump’s choice for Secretary of Health and Human Services.
Kennedy has promised to “Make America Healthy Again” by taking on big pharmaceutical companies and damaging incentives across the food and healthcare industries.
He has consequently been the subject of vicious political attacks that he is a conspiracy theorist and does not believe in the safety or efficacy of vaccines.
This has led to speculation as to whether he has the votes to be confirmed by the Senate.
While Kennedy is likely to pull the majority of votes from Republicans, there are likely to be some holdouts.
However, The Hill reports that both Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and John Fetterman of Pennsylvania are leaving the door open to supporting his nomination.
The report states:
A handful of Senate Democrats are said to be leaving the door open to voting for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to become the next Health and Human Services secretary.
As preparations for confirmation hearings begin to take shape, multiple sources say Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and John Fetterman (D-Pa.), in particular, are at least considering voting for Kennedy, noting shared critiques on heavy corporate influence over food and a desire to promote a less chemical-laden country.
Their perceived openness comes despite a fervent backlash against Kennedy’s nomination from many within the Democratic Party, where his controversial stances on vaccinations still could be a deciding factor for many who see his views as dangerous for public health.Still, some believe a number of Democrats are signaling they want to give President-elect Trump’s ally and ex-presidential rival a chance to make his case.
I think Bernie will give him a fair review,” said one source close to the senator’s office.
Further evidence that Sanders may vote to confirm comes from an article he wrote this week in The Guardian newspaper in which he called for major reforms to both the healthcare and food industries.
He wrote:
Large food corporations should not make record-breaking profits making children addicted to processed foods, which make them overweight and prone to diabetes and other diseases.
As a start, we must ban junk-food ads targeted to kids and put strong warning labels on products high in sugar, salt and saturated fat,” Sanders wrote. “Longer term, we can rebuild rural America with family farms that are producing healthy, nutritious food.
Another Senator said to be open to the idea is New Jersey’s Cory Booker, who is interested in healthy living and is a practicing vegan.
If all Democrats were to vote against Kennedy, then Trump could lose a maximum of three Republican votes in order to see him confirmed.
Yet if even just one Democrat decides to support him, his path to confirmation becomes much easier.
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