Barrasso dodges on whether RFK Jr. has enough votes for HHS confirmation – Washington Examiner
Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso (R-WY) addressed the confirmation prospects of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for the role of Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary, expressing strong support for Kennedy while failing to give a definitive answer regarding whether he has enough votes for confirmation. Barrasso emphasized the urgency to ”make America healthy again,” suggesting that Kennedy’s appointment could help tackle ongoing chronic health issues in the country.
Kennedy’s confirmation follows two hearings where Republicans questioned his vaccine stance. Barrasso noted that Republican senators are working hard to support Trump’s nominees, implying that some Democratic lawmakers view Kennedy unfavorably. When pressed about the potential need for Vice President JD Vance to break a tie in the confirmation vote,Barrasso reiterated his belief in Kennedy’s suitability for the position.
Sen. lindsey graham (R-SC) also expressed his intention to vote for Kennedy, citing his alignment with Trump’s pro-life agenda, but warned that he would closely monitor Kennedy’s actions if confirmed. the Senate seems to be ahead of schedule in confirming Trump’s cabinet nominees compared to previous terms.
Barrasso dodges on whether RFK Jr. has enough votes for HHS confirmation
Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso (R-WY) did not provide a direct answer on whether Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has enough votes to be confirmed as Health and Human Services secretary, but did stress the need to “make America healthy again” with Kennedy’s help.
Kennedy’s confirmation vote follows two hearings last week in which some Republicans took issue with his stance on vaccines. When asked if Kennedy would have enough support, Barrasso said Republicans are “working very hard” to ensure Trump’s nominees get confirmed, suggesting that Democratic lawmakers view Kennedy as a “traitor” in this confirmation process.
“I’m a doctor, I support his nomination, I thought he did wonderfully at the two days of hearings, he had to go to two different hearings for this,” Barrasso said on Fox News’s Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo. “We need to make America healthy again. We spend almost a quarter of the money of this country on healthcare, and what happens? We have chronic problems, epidemics of obesity, diabetes, chronic disease. We need to do much, much more. I think Robert Kennedy is the right person. I’m working hard to make sure he gets confirmed.”
Barrasso was pressed on the possibility that Vice President JD Vance would be a tiebreaking vote in Kennedy’s vote, citing rumors that Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) is hesitant to support the HHS secretary nominee. The Wyoming senator cited how Vance broke the tie in confirming Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth last month and reiterated that Kennedy is the right person for the job.
Barrasso also detailed how eight nominees for Trump’s Cabinet have been confirmed so far, and the Senate is expecting to conduct five more confirmation votes this week, one of whom will be for Pam Bondi, the nominee for attorney general. The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee just advanced the confirmation of Bondi on Wednesday with a vote of 12-10.
Ahead of Kennedy’s confirmation vote, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said on Sunday that he will vote for the HHS secretary, citing his belief that Kennedy will enact “President Trump’s pro-life agenda” in this role. However, Graham warned Kennedy that he would watch “every move he makes” should he get confirmed.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) assessed last week that Senate Republicans are “ahead of schedule” in confirming Trump’s Cabinet nominees, and the confirmation process is going much faster compared to Trump’s first term, in which it took 43 days to confirm the first 12 nominees. As of the first two weeks of Trump’s second term, eight nominees have been confirmed so far, including Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Secretary of Interior Doug Burgum.
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