Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) last week was publicly wrestling with his decision on whether to support Kennedy, a longtime anti-vaccine activist. Kennedy claims he is not anti-vaccine and is merely seeking more data on their safety.
But Democrats — and Cassidy — said Kennedy has always fallen back on the desire to see more data, even when there is overwhelming evidence to refute his claims.
Still, Cassidy said he received key pledges from Kennedy and the Trump administration, which led to him casting the deciding vote in the Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday. Kennedy advanced on a party-line vote, 14-13.
Kennedy's floor vote is expected to occur next week. He can afford to lose three Republican votes, though with Cassidy's support it's not clear there will be enough opposition to stop him.
Cassidy is also facing a primary challenge from the right and is considered politically endangered; he voted to convict Trump during his 2021 impeachment.
Cassidy's ultimate decision to back Kennedy reflects Trump's power over the Republican Party. Despite the highly controversial nature of the nominees, none have been defeated on the Senate floor.
Among the commitments Cassidy said he secured from Kennedy and the Trump administration were maintaining a key federal advisory board; working within the established vaccine safety systems; giving Cassidy some input on HHS hiring decisions; and a 30-day warning on potential changes to federal vaccine safety monitoring programs.
But former top officials and public health experts indicated the agreements were hollow, and Cassidy was giving up a key congressional check on Trump's power.
"Oversight hearings and oversight activities are pretty much after the fact. They don't ensure that there [are] real-time, protective measures that are taken," said Tom Frieden, who was director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention during the Obama administration. "So they're important, they're necessary, but they're certainly not sufficient to protect Americans."
Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association, said he's confident Kennedy is going to break every promise he made to Cassidy.
"Is he going to pick up the phone and call on the senator every time he's about to make a controversial decision? I don't think so," Benjamin said.
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