After a close 52-48 majority vote, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was confirmed as the upcoming Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) on a Thursday morning in mid-February. The Senate suspended its internal discussion relating to the nomination of Kennedy at roughly 10:18 in the morning, which opened up the platform for final comments from Senators Don Wyden of Oregon (Democrat) and Mike Crapo from Idaho (Republican). The final closing argument was put forth by the Minority Leader of the Senate, Chuck Schumer from New York.
By 11:17 AM, the difference between the supporting and opposing votes was a meager four. Senator Rand Paul from Kentucky, a Republican, voiced the final ‘aye’ around 11:30 AM, ultimately securing Kennedy’s confirmation. Incidentally, several other nominations during recent times, including Pete Hegseth’s for the position of U.S. Secretary of Defense, have faced similarly nail-biting votes.
As arguments started, Wyden made his opposition to Kennedy’s nomination clear through a thought experiment: how might Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) funding cuts affect families struggling to provide necessary care for their elderly members? What if cuts to nursing home funding made it impossible for a working mother to ensure her mother received all the care she needed? Wyden brought attention to the dangerous course he felt the Republican Party, led by Donald Trump, was on, claiming a hazardous approach to healthcare.
In his own words, ‘The Republicans, with their leader being Donald Trump, are conducting the nation toward a healthcare catastrophe. Their endgame appears to be depriving as many people as possible of Medicaid.’ Wyden added, ‘What our nation really needs is a leader in the Health and Human Services sector, who will take actual steps to improve care, reduce costs, protect reproductive rights, and most importantly, adhere to the facts and science.
There’s no denying that America’s healthcare system requires much-needed reform—it has its shortcomings. Democrats are willing to negotiate in a bipartisan manner to address these issues. We are distraught over a system teetering dangerously close to prioritizing profits over patient wellbeing’.
Senator Mike Crapo, on the other hand, spoke supporting Kennedy’s nomination and addressed Kennedy’s stand on vaccinations. Crapo said of Kennedy, ‘His sole demand is for comprehensive and meticulous research to be conducted on vaccines.’ As per Crapo, Mr. Kennedy’s pledge to this commitment had been consistent and evident throughout the proceedings. Crapo was of the belief that Kennedy would bring innovative ideas to the health sector.
Crapo highlighted Kennedy’s responsiveness to innumerable questions from senators from either side and spoke favorably about the ‘extensive’ scrutiny process chaired by the Senate Finance Committee. According to Crapo, this examination was ‘the most rigorous inspection any nominee for a Secretary-level position has to go through in the Senate.’
He added, ‘Mr. Kennedy not only satisfied the specifications set by The Office of Government Ethics but surpassed them, adhering to the highest standards.’ Crapo responded to Wyden’s apprehensions over potential cuts by labeling them as ‘fear-mongering politics.’,
To which Wyden retorted, ‘The slashing of critical healthcare expenditures begins today. The proposition to reduce these essential programs is initiated right now, in the other House.’
Crapo countered, ‘We are bombarded with this narrative every time we undertake to resolve our government’s excessive spending issues.’,
The concluding argument was delivered by Senate Minority Leader Schumer, who urged fellow Senators to bear their constituents in mind while casting their votes. Schumer described Kennedy as an ‘alarmingly incompetent advocate of conspiracy theories.’