The Senate Finance Committee voted 14-13 in a party line vote to favorably recommend President Trump’s Health and Human Services Secretary nominee, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., to the Senate floor.
All 14 Republicans on the committee voted to advance Kennedy’s nomination, while all 13 Democrats voted ‘no’.
Republican Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy, a medical doctor, had questioned Kennedy strongly about his views on vaccines in both the Senate Finance and the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) committee hearings.
Despite saying he “struggled” with the nomination, Cassidy ultimately voted to advance Kennedy to the Senate floor. (RELATED: Megyn Kelly Reveals Which Senator Up For Reelection She’s Watching To Back RFK Jr.)
Cassidy tweeted out his plans to vote for Kennedy just minutes before the vote took place.
“I’ve had very intense conversations with Bobby and the White House over the weekend and even this morning,” Cassidy wrote.
He specifically cited Vice President JD Vance as an influence on his vote, thanking him for his “honest counsel.”
“With the serious commitments I’ve received from the administration and the opportunity to make progress on the issues we agree on like healthy foods and a pro-American agenda, I will vote yes,” Cassidy said.
I’ve had very intense conversations with Bobby and the White House over the weekend and even this morning. I want to thank VP JD specifically for his honest counsel. With the serious commitments I’ve received from the administration and the opportunity to make progress on the…
— U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (@SenBillCassidy) February 4, 2025
Kennedy’s nomination will now move to the Senate floor, where he will need a majority vote to be confirmed. With a 53-47 majority, Senate Republicans can afford three defections. (RELATED: RFK’s MAHA Army Descends On Nation’s Capital — From Left, Right And Center)
Cassidy’s ‘yes’ vote on Kennedy in committee bodes well for the likelihood that he will also vote ‘yes’ on the Senate floor.
None of the three GOP senators — Kentucky’s Mitch McConnell, Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski and Maine’s Susan Collins — who voted against Trump’s secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, have publicly commented on how they’ll vote on Kennedy.
Collins did, however, say she will be a ‘yes’ on one of Trump’s other embattled cabinet picks, director of national intelligence nominee Tulsi Gabbard.
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