America’s Golden Age (of Contagion)
Canada beefs up its stateside efforts to combat tariffs.
AFTER YEARS OF ACCUSING non-MAGA conservatives of being the ones who’ve changed, Senate Republicans this morning confirmed Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to become secretary of the health and human services by a vote of 52–48. Mitch McConnell was the only Republican to vote against him. The vote capped off a long but surprisingly relaxed process by which Kennedy’s supporters in the chamber brought their hesitant and skeptical colleagues on side to install the former Democrat and longtime abortion access supporter, climate change activist, drug legalization advocate, and all-purpose crackpot as head of America’s foremost health agency.
One by one, the limp resisters—Republicans perceived as still principled, reliant on credible scientific research, or just generally opposed to conspiracy theories about vaccines, chemtrails, and the U.S. government’s role in cultivating and administering deadly diseases to the public—all fell in line to back Kennedy. In some cases, lawmakers secured “commitments” and “assurances” that Kennedy, age 71, will not act on beliefs he has held most of his life—beliefs that many in both politics and the medical community view as dangerous.
Republicans such as Sens. James Lankford (R-Okla.) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) jettisoned their pro-life convictions to elevate a person who was (not so long ago) an outspoken pro-choice Democrat to a position in which he will preside over the American health sector. In fairness to them, Kennedy’s past positions on this issue are somewhat irrelevant, as his true passion is undermining the credibility and trustworthiness of life-saving vaccines. In this area, Republicans who know how dangerous Kennedy’s convictions are to public health—including one-time medical doctor and lifelong advocate of vaccines, Bill Cassidy (R-La.)—are going to have much to answer for in the years ahead.
In his closing statement at the end of Kennedy’s second hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, Cassidy outlined significant concerns about the nominee’s fitness to lead HHS.