By Gabriella Borter and Stephanie Kelly
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Republican U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, a doctor who had expressed wariness about Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s anti-vaccine views, cleared the path on Tuesday for Kennedy to become the top health official in President Donald Trump’s administration.
A Louisiana lawmaker who spent decades working in public health, Cassidy had voiced concern about Kennedy during his confirmation hearings before casting a ballot to advance him out of the Senate Finance Committee, in a 14-13 party-line vote.
“Mr. Kennedy and the administration reached out seeking to reassure me regarding their commitment to protecting the public health benefit of vaccination,” Cassidy said. “My support is built on insurances that this will not have to be a concern, and that he and I can work together to build an agenda to make America healthy again.”
The Senate, which Republicans control by a 53-47 majority, has been moving swiftly to confirm Trump’s Cabinet picks, even those initially seen as controversial. A separate Senate committee on Tuesday advanced former Democratic U.S. Representative Tulsi Gabbard’s nomination to serve as the nation’s top spy, despite doubts about her lack of experience and past statements seen as supporting U.S. adversaries.
Three Senate Republicans, Mitch McConnell, Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski, have expressed concern about Kennedy. That same trio last month voted against confirming former Fox News personality Pete Hegseth as defense secretary. Vice President JD Vance overrode their objections and cast a ballot to break a 50-50 tie, marking just the second time in U.S. history a vice president needed to take that action to confirm a Cabinet secretary.
The first time was former Vice President Mike Pence’s vote for Education Secretary Betsy DeVos during Trump’s first term.
After facing an intense political pressure campaign – including billionaire Elon Musk’s threats to support primary opponents of any Republican who obstructed Trump’s nominees – Cassidy said he had gotten the necessary reassurances to vote in line with his party.
Speaking on the Senate floor after his “yes” vote, Cassidy said he had made his decision to support Kennedy after speaking with him multiple times over the weekend and even Tuesday morning.
Democrats slammed their Republican colleagues’ move.
“RFK Jr. is a danger to public health. Every Republican senator who votes yes will own the consequences,” Senator Elizabeth Warren, who sits on the Finance Committee, wrote on X after the vote.
Cassidy was already viewed as skating on political thin ice if he chooses to run for reelection in 2026, given that he was one of seven Republicans who voted to convict Trump in his Senate impeachment trial on charges relating to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters.
Trump ultimately was not convicted thanks to other Republican senators. Cassidy for that vote was censured by the Louisiana Republican Party and labeled “disloyal” by Trump. In last year’s election, Trump won in Louisiana with more than 60% of the vote.
(Reporting by Gabriella Borter and Stephanie Kelly; Editing by Scott Malone, Will Dunham and Alistair Bell)
