Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead HHS, has nearly two dozen meetings scheduled on Capitol Hill, POLITICO has learned.
One of the Hill stops includes a meeting with the incoming leader of the Senate HELP Committee, which could hold a confirmation hearing.
Katie Miller, Kennedy’s media contact during the transition, said he has at least 20 meetings scheduled. But she declined to discuss more details.
Why it matters: The pick, which has roiled many public health experts, comes after Trump promised to let Kennedy “go wild” with health and food policy in his administration after Kennedy dropped his own presidential bid to endorse the now-president-elect.
A person familiar with some of the meetings granted anonymity to discuss the details told POLITICO Kennedy will meet with the Senate HELP Committee’s Republican staff on Thursday and will also meet with committee ranking member Bill Cassidy (R-La.) sometime next week. Cassidy will chair the panel next year. Kennedy could undergo confirmation hearings both with the HELP committee and Senate Finance, but only the latter would vote on his confirmation.
It’s unclear if Kennedy could clinch enough Senate votes to assume the top role at HHS. Trump’s announcement that he would nominate Kennedy to the post has been met with mixed feelings on Capitol Hill.
Though Republicans will have an edge, it will only take four defectors to sink RFK Jr.’s nomination if Democrats, as expected, oppose him in unison. Republicans have rushed to applaud some of Trump’s more conventional Cabinet picks, but the lack of public enthusiasm for RFK Jr. suggests some may be skeptical.
