Republican doctor clears way for Senate to confirm Kennedy as top US health official

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Robert F. Kennedy Jr. cleared a big hurdle in his bid to become the top U.S. health official on Tuesday after clinching the committee vote of Louisiana Republican Senator Bill Cassidy, a doctor who had expressed wariness over Kennedy's anti-vaccine views.

Cassidy, who spent decades working in public health, was seen as a potential swing vote on the Senate Finance Committee, which voted 14-13 on Tuesday morning to put Kennedy's nomination to a full Senate vote. All Republicans voted in favor and all Democrats voted against advancing Kennedy's nomination.

Cassidy chairs the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. During a hearing before that committee last week, Cassidy had said he was troubled by Kennedy's long record of casting doubt on vaccine safety, and cited his own ethical duties as a physician.

But by Tuesday, 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.

"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."

Cassidy said that he was assured he would have an "unprecedentedly close collaborative working relationship" with Kennedy if the nominee is confirmed, through his role as chair of the health committee that oversees the Department of Health and Human Services. Cassidy was also assured that he would have input in the Department's hiring decisions, he said.

The Department oversees more than $3 trillion in healthcare spending, including agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration and the one in charge of the Medicare and Medicaid health insurance programs covering more than 100 million Americans.

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)