Trump eyes a battle to get Kennedy through the Senate

The News WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Donald Trump may be spoiling for a big fight over what to do with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., as appetite grows among his advisers for the vaccine critic to get tapped for a Senate-confirmed position.

Republicans are abuzz over Kennedy's potential role in a Trump White House, especially after the former independent presidential candidate said last month that he'd been promised "control of the public health agencies." Trump's transition co-chair, Howard Lutnick, told CNN soon afterward that Kennedy is "not getting" nominated to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.

But despite those comments, there's "broad support across every faction" of Trump's orbit for empowering Kennedy, one person close to the situation told Semafor. A second person close to the situation agreed, adding that Kennedy's allies occupy "important places" in Trump's network — not to mention that Trump himself has repeatedly praised him.

With Republicans taking a 53-seat majority next year, Kennedy could lose three senators from Trump's party and still join the cabinet. Some in the party are eager to let the incoming president stock his cabinet as he sees fit.

"Yeah. I'll support anybody President Trump nominates because I'm sure he's vetting out and he deserves a team he should pick," Sen.-elect Bernie Moreno of Ohio told Semafor. "There should be massive deference given to him."

After Trump picked two top advisers who should breeze through Senate confirmation in New York Rep. Elise Stefanik and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, Kennedy's fate is shaping up as a moment of truth for the president-elect. He can either pick a potential fight with the Senate that might test his grip on his party or take the more pragmatic route by installing Kennedy in another role that doesn't require 50 votes for confirmation.

Confirmation hearings for Kennedy next year in the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, if he is nominated to lead HHS or another major agency, risk turning into a political nightmare for Trump's team. Kennedy would have to submit in-depth personal information, including on his finances, and would almost certainly face tough questions about his stance on vaccines as well as his skepticism about seed oils and support for removing fluoride from the water supply.

"People are very worried about a guy who's a vaccine skeptic. And I'm talking about all vaccines, just for starters. I think Republicans would be concerned about their family members, too," Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., told Semafor. Asked if Kennedy could be confirmed just with GOP votes, he replied: "I'm not sure, given his current record."

Know More Three Republicans who Kennedy might struggle to win over happen to also sit on the health committee, creating a possible bottleneck if he's nominated: Moderate Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins and incoming chairman Sen. Bill Cassidy, a no-nonsense doctor who has declined to weigh in on Kennedy.

"I have no idea whether he's even going to be nominated for a Senate-confirmed position," Collins, R-Maine, said of Kennedy on Tuesday.

Kennedy has grown personally close to Trump since dropping out of the presidential race and endorsing him in August. Because of that dynamic, the transition team is less involved in the decision making around Kennedy compared with Trump's already-announced picks, both people close to the situation told Semafor.

"It's not [about] where the transition is leaning," one of the people said. "This is between two people: Robert Kennedy and the president-elect."

It remains unclear what specific health position Trump will choose for Kennedy, although the second of the two people vowed that it would be Senate-confirmed. It's clear that at least some in Trump's orbit don't seem concerned about pushback because of Kennedy's more contentious positions; now that Trump has won, these allies argue, senators should be more willing to fall in line.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., one of Kennedy's biggest fans in Congress, said he "absolutely" wants the Democrat-turned-independent to play a key role in the Trump administration, whether it requires confirmation by the Senate or not: "RFK will have a big influence over who is in charge at HHS."

Kennedy, who called the Covid vaccine "the deadliest" ever made, has tried to clarify his stance on vaccines since Trump's victory last week. Kennedy told NBC News he wouldn't "take away anybody's vaccines" and vowed he is not "anti-vaccine." "If vaccines are working for somebody, I'm not going to take them away. People ought to have choice, and that choice ought to be informed by the best information," Kennedy said.

Shelby and Burgess' View It will be far easier for Trump to install Kennedy in a spot that doesn't require Senate scrutiny. Democrats are certain to try to maximize their political opportunities during a Kennedy confirmation fight, testing Trump's relationships with pivotal Republican senators.

There are parallel discussions about Kennedy serving in an alternative "White House czar" type position instead of a confirmable appointment. Trump still might make an aggressive move: Even during four years of GOP Senate control during his first term, several of his high-level nominees failed thanks to intraparty opposition.

It comes down to how willing Trump is to risk a fight with his party. It wouldn't be surprising if he chooses Kennedy as his one difficult appointee this time around, given the internal support for that approach and the fact that Trump's other picks so far are likely to face easy confirmations.

Trump wouldn't be alone, either, if he ended up with a politically fraught nominee early in his term. President Joe Biden's first pick to lead his budget office ended up withdrawing in 2021 amid Democratic resistance, and former President Barack Obama watched his first pick to lead HHS go down in 2009.