Sen. Bill Cassidy on Sunday declined to criticize Robert F. Kennedy after the Health and Human Services head personally instructed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to change its stance on vaccines and autism.
In an interview with CNN’s "State of the Union" on Sunday, the Republican lawmaker and physician emphasized that vaccines are safe and that President Donald Trump agrees — but did not specifically name Kennedy in his critique of the new guidance.
“It’s actually quite well proven that vaccines are not associated with autism,” Cassidy (R-La.) told host Jake Tapper. “There’s a fringe out there that thinks so, but they’re quite fringe.”
Cassidy, who was essentially the deciding vote on Kennedy's nomination to lead Health and Human Services, was initially hesitant to support Trump's pick — in part because of Kennedy's history of questioning vaccine efficacy. During Kennedy's confirmation hearing, Cassidy explicitly questioned Kennedy on whether he would accept research debunking links between autism and vaccines.
Cassidy on Sunday said that anything that “undermines” the “absolutely scientifically based understanding” that vaccines are safe “is a problem.”
But that wasn’t enough for Tapper, who cited an essay by John F. Kennedy's granddaughter Tatiana Schlossberg criticizing the secretary’s approach as she revealed her terminal illness.
"I watched from my hospital bed as Bobby, in the face of logic and common sense, was confirmed for the position, despite never having worked in medicine, public health, or the government," she wrote of her cousin. "Suddenly, the health-care system on which I relied felt strained, shaky."
Tapper then confronted Cassidy for refusing to criticize Kennedy by name.
Cassidy, in turn, accused Tapper of trying to make him say something negative.
“Of course it makes news if Republicans fight each other. I get that,” Cassidy said. “But I'm all about, how do we make America healthy? And I speak as a physician, and I don't think the tit for tat is what people are about.”
Cassidy added that Schlossberg’s essay was “a good essay” and he is not minimizing the changes made to the CDC but that his focus is on getting Americans vaccinated and legislating affordable health care.
“And so, Jake, I know it's titillating, but I think we need to move beyond the titillation and actually what matters to the American people,” Cassidy concluded.
Cassidy went on to speak about his own proposed bill to protect against rising healthcare costs — many of which are expected to hit when Obamacare subsidies expire at the end of the year. He added that he has also spoken with other Republicans, like Florida Sen. Rick Scott, about long-term solutions.
Their legislation, Cassidy said, will give “power to the patient, not profits to the insurance companies.”
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