Caroline Kennedy has been reticent to publicly comment on her cousin’s politics and told senators that she was speaking up now but reluctantly.
“I have never wanted to speak publicly about my family members and their challenges,” she wrote.
But at an event in November at the National Press Club in Canberra, she dismissed her cousin’s views on vaccines as “dangerous” and said they were not reflective of the views of “most Americans” and the rest of the Kennedy family.
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“I would say that our family is united in terms of our support for the public health sector and infrastructure and has the greatest admiration for the medical profession in our country, and Bobby Kennedy has got a different set of views,” Caroline Kennedy said at the time.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr is among Trump’s most vulnerable cabinet nominees. Former vice president Mike Pence and his conservative advocacy group have raised concerns about his past support for abortion. Several Republican senators, including Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, who chairs the Senate’s health committee, have said that he has wrongly questioned the safety of vaccines. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, a polio survivor, does not appear to have granted a meeting with Kennedy Jr, raising questions about whether he will vote to confirm him, and other Republican senators have also not said where they stand on the nomination.
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Kennedy Jr can only lose three Republican votes if all Democrats vote against him, and still be confirmed. He has two confirmation hearings, one on Wednesday and one on Thursday.
While Caroline Kennedy’s testimonial may not sway Republicans, it could shore up Democrats’ opposition to her cousin. Democrats have contested his nomination but many have said they will approach the confirmation with an open mind and are refusing to rule out voting for him, though they have cited deep concerns about his views on vaccines. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania and some other senators have signalled they are open to supporting Trump’s nominees and have agreed with some of Kennedy Jr’s views on the healthcare industry.
He has spent more than a month meeting dozens of senators, seeking to sway them, although it is not clear whether those efforts secured additional votes or further antagonised his sceptics.
Patty Murray of Washington, a prominent Kennedy critic, told The Washington Post it was the most troubling meeting that she has had with a cabinet nominee in her entire career.
Some of Kennedy’s family members spoke out against his presidential campaign and endorsement of Trump, saying he did not represent their family’s Democratic values, but had been largely silent on his nomination to run the nation’s health department.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr arrives before Donald Trump speaks during an America First Policy Institute gala at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida.Credit: AP
Advocacy groups, meanwhile, have heavily contested his nomination, warning that the longtime anti-vaccine activist is not fit to oversee agencies responsible for the nation’s vaccine supply, would restrict abortion access, and take other steps to weaken the nation’s public health infrastructure.
Protect Our Care, a Democrat-aligned advocacy group running a “Stop RFK” war room, has commissioned advertisements highlighting Kennedy Jr’s visit to Samoa and meetings with anti-vaccine activists before an outbreak of measles, a vaccine-preventable disease, hit the island nation. 314 Action, another liberal advocacy group, unveiled new ads on Monday that also focus on his rhetoric and Samoa’s outbreak.
Kennedy Jr has maintained that he is not anti-vaccine and has denied any connection with Samoa’s measles outbreak.
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He is also facing pressure from some conservatives who say they do not trust the longtime liberal and scion of a famous Democratic family to pursue Republican priorities.
Advancing American Freedom, a conservative group backed by Pence, has commissioned its own ads featuring a video of then-candidate Trump deriding Kennedy Jr last year as “more liberal” than any Democratic candidate for president. Pence and his group have also urged conservative Republicans to scrutinise his stance on abortion in the upcoming hearings.
Trump allies have tried to rally support for Kennedy Jr’s nomination. The Heritage Foundation, a conservative advocacy organisation, has touted him as a would-be reformer who can take on special interests that have harmed Americans’ health.
