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As the first physician to chair the U.S. Senate HELP Committee since 1933 (back when it was just the Education and Labor Committee), Sen. Bill Cassidy hasn’t yet hesitated in 2025 to flex his health care credentials and leverage his newfound power.
On “Fox News Sunday” the past weekend, Cassidy participated in a lengthy interview and, among other statements, touched on vaccines and the approaching administration of President-elect Donald Trump. Regarding Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whom Trump wants as Health and Human Services secretary, Cassidy described the nominee’s stance on vaccines as “wrong.”
As the official confirmation process approaches, Kennedy and Cassidy met privately Wednesday to discuss issues and get to know each other. Afterwards, Cassidy posted a plainly-worded statement on X: “Had a frank conversation with HHS nominee @RobertKennedyJr. We spoke about vaccines at length. Looking forward to the hearings in HELP and Finance.”
Cassidy, it should be noted, is also a member of the Finance Committee, which has approval authority over Kennedy’s nomination.
And as chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP), Cassidy is likewise setting the pace on the confirmation of Linda McMahon, Trump’s pick to head the Education Department and the former director of the Small Business Administration. Cassidy is tapping the proverbial breaks on McMahon’s approval as he awaits her financial disclosure filings and other documents.
—THEY SAID IT: “If anyone thinks that’s bonkers, it’s like, well, remember the Louisiana Purchase?” — U.S. Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, about President-elect Trump’s talk of acquiring Greenland, on Fox News
