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Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will be on Capitol Hill this week for a series of meetings with senators after being chosen by President-elect Donald Trump to lead the US Department of Health and Human Services in his next term.
Kennedy is expected to spend four days on the Hill before lawmakers leave town for Christmas.
As long as he is there, Kennedy is expected to be pressured their beliefs about abortionthat have left some Republicans with questions, as well as the effectiveness of vaccines, which bipartisan lawmakers have publicly expressed concern about.
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President-elect Trump used Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to run HHS. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
“I want to know what their real concerns are and what they would like to do differently. But I don’t want to do that lose our vaccine programs” Sen. Mike Rounds, RSD, told reporters recently, reflecting on his time as governor overseeing these programs.
Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Oklahoma, shared that while he will meet with Kennedy, it’s already a resounding yes.
“I have had the privilege of sitting down and answering most of my questions. We will meet, but I supported the president appointing him for this,” he said.
“So, I was supportive before it even happened.”
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Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Oklahoma, said he had spent time with RFK Jr. in the campaign (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Mullin, a close Trump ally, noted that he had spent significant time with Kennedy on the campaign trail.
Kennedy is a prominent vaccination skeptic and has voiced his own criticism of many popular traits. This has drawn criticism from some on both sides of the aisle, as vaccines have been routinely relied on to prevent viruses in childhood and slow their spread.
However, since getting behind Trump before the end of the campaign, Kennedy has somewhat moderated his stance on vaccines. In one interview with NBC News, rejected the suggestion that he is “anti-vaccine.”
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“If the vaccines work for someone, I won’t take them,” he vowed.
“So I’m going to make sure that there are scientific studies of safety and efficacy, and that people can make individual assessments about whether this product will be good for them.”
Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., told Fox News Digital that he looks forward to meeting with Kennedy. A staunch pro-life advocate, Lankford has previously said he had many questions about Kennedy’s position on abortion.
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The selection of RFK Jr. by Trump for HHS is raising some concerns among Republicans. (Reuters/Istock)
A number of other Republicans have previously expressed to Fox News Digital their interest in talking to Kennedy about abortion.
At the same time, Kennedy has managed to win over some politicians with his plans to tighten food regulations and “make America healthy again.”
The longtime Democrat-turned-independent could draw support from those on the Democratic side of the aisle, given that there is bipartisan support for addressing food security.
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It’s not clear who Kennedy will meet with on Capitol Hill, but some Democrats have indicated their doors are open.
A representative for Kennedy declined to comment to Fox News Digital about the planned visits this week.
