Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), who is nearing the end of his time in office, delivered his sharpest public criticism yet of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. during a Sunday interview, charging that Kennedy is steering the nation’s public health apparatus “upon a foundation of lies” and has failed to honor commitments he made to win Cassidy’s confirmation vote.
“If you build public health upon a foundation of lies, then you’re going to have the absence of adequate public health,” Cassidy, a gastroenterologist who chairs the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, said on CBS News’ “Face The Nation.”
“You need to build everything in life on truth. I go back to being a doctor. You got to search for the truth and use the truth for your solutions.”
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Cassidy’s remarks came after “Face The Nation” moderator Margaret Brennan pressed him about vaccine information on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website. The page features the headline “Vaccines do not cause autism,” but includes an asterisked note saying the statement remains posted only because of an agreement with Cassidy.
“This is not truth, and there’ll be a consequence of it, and that consequence, unfortunately, will be borne by those who actually are influenced by it,” Cassidy told Brennan. “I will say, except for news anchors, very few people read the CDC website. And so I’m not sure how much influence that has, how much negative influence that has.”
Cassidy, who was defeated last month in the Republican primary while seeking a third Senate term, also said Kennedy “has not restored trust in public health.” He added that, “if you believe the press accounts,” the administration appears to be working to rein in Kennedy’s authority. Cassidy pointed to polling showing that Americans continue to recognize the importance of vaccines, saying that public messaging suggesting otherwise runs counter to their lived experience. “So I think you can see the administration responding to the American people’s awareness that folks should be vaccinated,” he said.
1 comment
What a ridiculous temper tantrum just because he lost his cushy job because he failed to support what the people voted for and his own party’s priorities.