Robert F. Kennedy Jr. he has meetings with more than a dozen senators over the next two days, including top progressive Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., among others in the Democratic caucus.
President-elect Donald Trump announced last year that RFK Jr. his choice to lead the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in his second administration. Since the news broke, Kennedy has been meeting with various senators on Capitol Hill.
Up until this point, he had met only with Republicans in the upper house. But on Wednesday, Kennedy begins his meetings with a handful of Democrats, who could be key to his confirmation.
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RFK Jr. will begin several meetings with Democrats on Wednesday. (Reuters)
Kennedy, a former Democrat and independent presidential candidate, will attend meetings with members of the Democratic Caucus, Senators Catherine Cortez-Masto of Nevada, John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, Ed Markey of Massachusetts, Michael Bennet of Colorado, Mark Warner of Virginia , Warren and Sanders.
The one-on-one meetings with Democrats come as several members of the party have expressed openness to some of Kennedy’s views, particularly on agriculture and food production.
But some of those same policy positions pose a potential problem for his support among Senate Republicans.
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Kennedy endorsed Trump after he dropped out. (IMAGIN)
He will also join Sens. Jim Banks, R-Ind., Bill Cassidy, R-La., Susan Collins, R-Maine, John Cornyn, R-Texas and Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, at meetings on the Hill this week.
Grassley is one of several Republicans who have expressed concern about Kennedy’s views on agriculture and how they might affect farmers.
“They must know how to use them modern agricultural techniquesand that includes a lot of things, not just really sophisticated equipment, but also fertilizers and pesticides. So we need to have that conversation,” Sen. John Hoeven, RN.D., told reporters recently.
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Some Senate Republicans want answers from RFK Jr. about his farming beliefs before confirming him. (Reuters)
Grassley has previously emphasized the need for genetic engineering to keep up with food demand and feed the country.
However, others expressed confidence that Kennedy would make the right calls to farmers. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., said he warned Kennedy not to “go overboard” on farm regulations during their meeting last year.
He added that Trump’s pick for HHS was “very acceptable” and “he understands that our farmers are in trouble, and we want to make sure we have farmers who can make a living.”
Tuberville supports RFK Jr. for HHS. (IMAGIN)
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After Kennedy endorsed Trump ahead of the 2024 election, the two debuted a campaign called “Make America Healthy Again.”
This slogan was adopted by the club of representatives formed by some Senate Republicans who support Kennedy for the HHS role and hope to facilitate his and Trump’s policies to promote national health.
