President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for HHS Secretary hopes to make a positive impact on lawmakers during one-on-one discussions.
Though they have expressed alignment with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on issues like ending corporate capture of health agencies and removing chemicals from America’s food supply, some Republican lawmakers have expressed displeasure over the Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary nominee’s stances on abortion and vaccines.
On Dec. 17, Kennedy met with multiple Republican senators on Capitol Hill, intent on alleviating those concerns.
2025While entering Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s office, Kennedy told C-Span’s Howard Mortman that the sessions had been “really productive, really good.”
Kennedy was nominated to serve as HHS secretary by President-elect Donald Trump last month and has promised sweeping changes throughout the department.
HHS manages 13 agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Kennedy told The Epoch Times in September that he would revamp the NIH to focus on the causes of autism, autoimmune diseases, and neurodevelopment diseases instead of developing drugs and serving as an incubator for pharmaceutical products.
Under the “Make America Healthy Again” campaign, Kennedy intends to curtail what he calls the chronic disease epidemic by addressing the so-called corporate capture of federal health agencies and removing toxic chemicals from the nation’s food supply, among other objectives.
In January, Kennedy will face confirmation hearings with the Senate Finance Committee, which oversees the HHS and is scheduled to be led by Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho).
If he is approved by that panel, the full Senate will vote on Kennedy’s nomination.
When the Senate convenes in January, Republicans will hold 53 seats compared to 47 for the Democrats.
Multiple lawmakers wrote positive reviews on X about their meetings with Kennedy.
Tuberville wrote on X that the discussion “reaffirmed what I already knew: RFK Jr. is the right man to make sure our food is safe, bring transparency to vaccines and health care, and Make America Healthy Again.”
