Republican senators expect Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to soon make the rounds on Capitol Hill as he seeks to win their votes for his confirmation to be Trump’s Health and Human Services secretary.
Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) said Thursday Kennedy was likely to journey to the Hill in the coming days, suggesting he’d meet with GOP senators after the Thanksgiving break.
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), the top Republican on the HELP Committee, confirmed there has been “some preliminary reach out” to organize the meetings. Cassidy is also a member of the Finance Committee that will ultimately decide whether to send Kennedy’s nomination to the full Senate for a vote.
Kennedy has a smoother route to confirmation than several other Trump picks. Democrats are sure to attack his vaccine skepticism and embrace of Covid-19 conspiracy theories. But his more urgent task will be to calm concerns among GOP senators about his past support for abortion rights and reassure those from farm states concerned about his desire to overhaul the U.S. food system, which could send shockwaves through the agriculture sector.
Kennedy wants to ban certain pesticides, soybean products, corn syrup and other processed items from the current U.S. food supply as part of his “Make America Healthy Again” agenda.
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), a member of the Finance and Agriculture Committees, told reporters earlier this week that he’s pushing for a meeting with Kennedy before any confirmation hearing, citing some apprehension about Kennedy’s views on food production.
“I’m willing to have a discussion with him and find out where he’s coming from,” Grassley told reporters Tuesday. “But I may have to spend a lot of time educating him about agriculture, and I’m willing to do that.”