Kennedy is set to meet with lawmakers across four consecutive days, including with Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), who will chair the Senate HELP Committee next year, in addition to a meeting with the panel’s Republican staff on Thursday, according to a person familiar. 

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The longtime environmental lawyer and vaccine skeptic will be under scrutiny for his endorsement of debunked theories that vaccines cause autism and other chronic diseases. He has also said he wants to eliminate fluoride from the nation’s water supply.

In early November, Kennedy posted on X: “On January 20, the Trump White House will advise all U.S​. water systems to remove fluoride from public water,” a proposal that has drawn criticism from health experts.

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On January 20, the Trump White House will advise all U.S​. water systems to remove fluoride from public water. Fluoride is an industrial waste associated with arthritis, bone fractures, bone cancer, IQ loss, neurodevelopmental disorders, and thyroid disease. President…

— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) November 2, 2024

The former Democratic-turned-independent presidential candidate could be facing an uphill battle in the Senate. Kennedy is among one of Trump’s most controversial nominees and presents a significant test of Republican loyalties. He can only afford to lose three Republicans during his confirmation if all Senate Democrats vote against him. 

Ahead of the meetings, Cassidy, who is a gastroenterologist, as well as moderate Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), both members of the panel, have been noncommittal about confirming Kennedy.

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A lawyer assisting Kennedy in choosing officials for his new role as head of HHS petitioned the government to revoke its approval of the polio vaccine. The campaign is just one of the wars lawyer Aaron Siri is waging against vaccines of all kinds.  

“I realize Covid got to be pretty controversial, but vaccinations are an important part of our public health, starting with the requirement that kids get vaccinations before they go to school,” said Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), speaking to reporters this week.

Sen. John Boozman (R-AK), the incoming chairman of the Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee, said he has many questions about his views on food and agriculture policy.

“I’m very concerned, being the incoming chairman of agriculture, I will want to know kind of the food aspect of those production agriculture, those kind of things,” Boozman said. “What I want to do is visit with him and see where we can find common ground.”

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When Kennedy launched a campaign for the presidency as a Democrat last year, concerns around the chronic disease epidemic became one of the pillars of his movement. After he dropped out of the race and endorsed Trump, he launched a “Make America Healthy Again” campaign in which he pledged to clear out “entire categories” of health departments at bureaucracies such as the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Nutrition could be a key area where Kennedy could find consensus with Democrats, although none have gone as far as to say they’ll vote to confirm him. 

“When Kennedy talks about an unhealthy society, he’s right. The amount of chronic illness that we have is just extraordinary,” Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), the current chairman of the HELP committee, said during a recent interview with Business Insider. 

Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) admitted that many of Kennedy’s beliefs are “crazy conspiracy science” but said he agrees with him about negotiating drug prices.

“Well, there’s one thing that Kennedy has supported which I am in full agreement on, and that is that we should be negotiating the price of every drug that no American should be paid more, be paying more than the Canadians or the Europeans or the Australians or the Japanese for drugs,” he said during an appearance on CNN. 

“These drugs, largely invented in the United States of America, largely invented based on research that we, the American taxpayers bond, we should get the best prices in the world, not the worst. I would encourage Kennedy to undertake this mission all out, and that would be a very positive thing,” he added.

Some GOP Senators also said they plan to “tread somewhat carefully” considering Kennedy’s former party affiliation.

“I often say about him and Tulsi [Gabbard], a few weeks ago, they were both Democrats,” Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) said, according to reporting from Politico. “And so we ought to tread somewhat carefully. We’re all for recruitment, and we love people to come over. But you oftentimes don’t put a baby convert in the pulpit.”