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By Ahmed Aboulenein
WASHINGTON, Dec 18 (Reuters) - Halfway through Robert F.
Kennedy Jr.'s two dozen meetings at the U.S. Senate this week, no Republicans have signaled their intention to block confirmation of President-elect Donald Trump's pick for the top U.S. health job.
Kennedy, whose nomination to run the Department of Health and Human Services has raised concerns among both Democratic and Republican lawmakers over his anti-vaccine stance, has met with some of Trump's closest allies in the Senate, seen as easier to win over than some more skeptical members of the party.
The meetings have been "really productive, really good," Kennedy told reporters on Tuesday as he dashed through the Senate hallways from one meeting to the next.
Of the 12 senators Kennedy met with on Monday and Tuesday, five have outright committed to backing him, while the rest said the meetings went well but stopped short of doing so publicly.
With Republicans holding a 53-47 majority once the new Senate is sworn in, Kennedy cannot afford to lose more than three Republicans if all Democrats vote against him.
Asked if he planned to meet with any Democrats, Kennedy told reporters that he hoped to, but did not name any specifically.
He is still scheduled to meet with, among others, Senators Lisa Murkowski, Shelley Moore Capito, Susan Collins, and Ted Budd, all potentially key votes he will need to secure confirmation.
Kennedy has already met with Mike Crapo, the incoming chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, which is tasked with advancing his nomination to the full Senate. Crapo said they "had a good discussion" but did not say how he would vote.
The nominee has not yet met with Bill Cassidy, incoming chair of the Senate's health committee, but expects to sit down with his staff on Thursday.
Public health experts and consumer groups have said Kennedy's opposition to childhood vaccine mandates would cost lives.
A life-long Democrat who ran in the 2024 presidential election as an independent before dropping out and backing Trump, Kennedy seems to have appeased some Republicans concerned about his former pro-choice stance on abortion.
Senator Tommy Tuberville, a staunch Trump supporter, said Kennedy told him he would back Trump's agenda on abortion 100 percent. (Reporting by Ahmed Aboulenein; editing by Caroline Humer and Bill Berkrot) |
