WASHINGTON ― Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) delivered a fiery rebuke Thursday of President Donald Trump’s well being and human companies nominee, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and his historical past of fanning conspiracy theories about vaccines, turning into emotional as she described elevating a son with cerebral palsy and the necessity to construct on settled science.
Throughout Kennedy’s affirmation listening to, Hassan referred to as it “disturbing” that some Republicans have accused Democrats of opposing Kennedy’s nomination for partisan causes. In actual fact, she mentioned, Democratic senators take their position critically in relation to vetting potential Cupboard secretaries, and plenty of have issues about Kennedy’s mistrust of science.
“You may not know that I am the proud mother of a 36-year-old young man with severe cerebral palsy,” Hassan mentioned, choking up. “A day does not go by when I don’t think about, ‘What did I do when I was pregnant with him that might have caused the hydrocephalus that has so impacted his life?’”
The New Hampshire Democrat condemned the suggestion that any senator, in both social gathering, doesn’t wish to know what causes autism.
“Do you know how many friends I have with children who have autism?” she requested, her voice rising. “The problem with this witness’ response on the autism cause and the relationship to vaccines is because he’s relitigating and churning settled science. So we can’t go forward and find out what the cause of autism is and treat these kids and help these families.”
Immediately addressing Kennedy, Hassan referenced a well known and now-debunked 1998 research linking vaccines and autism, saying it “rocked my world” and left her nervous “like any mother” about whether or not vaccines had “done something” to her son. In actual fact, that research, which solely concerned 12 kids and went on to be extensively reviewed, turned out to be unsuitable. The medical journal that initially printed it retracted it.
“Sometimes science is wrong. We make progress,” mentioned the New Hampshire Democrat. “When you continue to sow doubt about settled science, it makes it impossible for us to move forward. So that’s what the problem is here.”
Kennedy didn’t say something in response as Hassan moved on with questions on Medicaid. When she wrapped up, folks within the viewers clapped.
It’s not clear if Kennedy has the votes to be confirmed. His file of spreading vaccine misinformation and his shaky understanding of how federal well being applications work have alarmed senators in each events. He additionally has to clear two Senate panels: the Finance Committee, which held its affirmation listening to Wednesday, and the Health, Training, Labor and Pensions Committee, which held Thursday’s listening to.
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Kennedy didn’t achieve this properly in Wednesday’s listening to, flubbing primary questions from Sen. Invoice Cassidy (R-La.), who’s a doctor, about how Medicaid works. And on Thursday, he raised eyebrows together with his responses to questions on vaccine security from Cassidy, who chairs the well being panel. The Louisiana Republican has been mum on whether or not he’ll help Kennedy’s nomination.
Trump first started contemplating Kennedy for the Cupboard put up after Kennedy dropped his presidential bid towards him in August.
