(Column by Stephanie Grace, June 14) Give U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy credit for this: He usually doesn’t hide from questions. He invites them, in fact, and generally tries to make a convincing case for whatever vote or position he’s taken.
Yet when it comes to defending his key, controversial vote to make professional vaccine denier Robert F. Kennedy Jr. the secretary of Health and Human Services, the physician senator from Louisiana seems to have run out of answers.
Since then, Kennedy has done plenty to alarm mainstream doctors and researchers and the many, many people who support their important work. But what’s left Cassidy largely speechless is Kennedy’s mass firing of an expert panel that advises the government on vaccines.
We weren’t privy to the conversations Cassidy had before deciding to carry one of President Donald Trump’s most controversial nominations (which is saying something) over the finish line. But we do know he and Kennedy talked about this particular panel, because Cassidy said so in his floor speech explaining his vote.
“If confirmed, [Kennedy] will maintain the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) without changes,” Cassidy assured everyone listening.
Last week, after Kennedy did just the opposite, Cassidy put out a concerned statement on X.
“Of course, now the fear is that the ACIP will be filled up with people who know nothing about vaccines except suspicion. I’ve just spoken with Secretary Kennedy, and I’ll continue to talk with him to ensure this is not the case,” he wrote. (Kennedy later said he had only committed to giving Cassidy one appointment on the 17-member committee.)
And that’s it. Asked to elaborate on his position in a Tuesday call with Louisiana journalists, Cassidy referred to his statement. Asked whether he’s disappointed at the firings, he referred to the statement again. Asked whether he’d been misled, he did so a third time, and said journalists should keep an eye on his feed for any updates because that’s how he planned to communicate on the issue going forward.
“I just found on something like this, which is so topical, it’s best to have a set of prepared statements.”…. [The full column is at this link.]
ADDENDUM: NOTE: Cassidy is actually bragging about getting RFK Jr. confirmed: ““I supported the president 90% of the time in his first term, which is among the top of all Republican senators,” he said. “He’s got two cabinet secretaries that he would not have unless I hadn’t gotten them approved.” (FROM THIS: https://www.nola.com/news/politics/louisiana-state-sen-blake-miguez-announces-run-against-bill-cassidy-for-u-s-senate/article_9ab48dcc-23e0-48c0-a58f-34abf1714648.html ). He owns this one.
