The Republican doctor who could be a hurdle to RFK Jr.'s confirmation

Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., said he was "struggling" with Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s nomination to be health and human services secretary at his confirmation hearing.

WASHINGTON — Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., cast doubt Thursday over whether Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is qualified to be the next leader of the government’s largest and most powerful health agency. 

Cassidy, a doctor, has emerged as a key swing vote in Kennedy's bid to be the secretary of health and human services. Cassidy chairs the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee and sits on the Finance Committee, the two panels Kennedy testified before this week.

Cassidy had been tight-lipped about his views on Kennedy, who has a long history of anti-vaccine activism, in the weeks since President Donald Trump announced his intention to nominate him.

At the end of Thursday's hearing, Cassidy said he was "struggling" with Kennedy's nomination.

“Your past of undermining confidence in vaccines with unfounded or misleading arguments concerns me,” Cassidy said. “Can I trust that that is now in the past? Can data and information change your opinion, or will you only look for data supporting a predetermined conclusion?”

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/republican-doctor-hurdle-rfk-jrs-confirmation-rcna190044

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