Baton Rouge, La. (AP) Senator Bill Cassidy, as a central figure in the confirmation of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whose nomination for health and human secretary has an equally consistent moment for the second-term Republican has an uncertain political future in Louisiana.
Cassidy, a doctor who has become a politician, has questions about Kennedy’s earlier claims that link common vaccines with autism, a position that the gastroenterologist rejects, and repeated it repeatedly to convince the candidate during a hearing from the To give up committee on Thursday.
But Republicans and voters at home in the state president Donald Trump carried handy, urged Cassidy, who was for re -election in 2026 to coordinate yes.
Cassidy was already in contradiction to part of his party, which Trump had voted during his elevation of 2021, and intended to be successful in his second term as president on Thursday. His survey of Kennedy on Thursday showed the conflict between Cassidy’s medical views and his wish to be an ally for the president and his followers.
Ultimately, Cassidy stopped saying briefly whether he would vote for the approval of Kennedy’s nomination, even though the hearing gave some clues.
“You may hear from me over the weekend,” said Cassidy.
Who does Cassidy hear from?
There was no uncertainty of the Republicans of Louisiana in her advice to Cassidy.
Prominent party members, including the organizational leader of the state GOP, vocal conservative and a potential main challenger, made Cassidy clear that he was wearing the party’s will against the candidate of a candidate who wore Louisiana.
The general surgeon Ralph Abraham, the Republican chairman of the Republican Chairman Derek Babcock, and a conservative coalition in the House of Representatives of Louisiana, who said goodbye to Freedom Caucus, wrote to Cassidy to confirm Kennedy.
The letter from Republican governor Jeff Landry may have sent the clearest signal to Cassidy. In a letter to Cassidy, his former house colleague and long -time Trump Devoteee remembered Kennedy’s appearance in Baton Rouge and found that “Kennedy was a capital for the state when we navigated the federal government’s decree.”
The Republican representative of Raymond Crews said Cassidy’s reputation among Louisiana’s republicans was on his voice about Kennedy.
A vote against Kennedy “would not match the country and in particular did not match the state of Louisiana,” said the crews.
What is Kennedy’s Republican basis in Louisiana?
In his opening to the committee on Thursday, Cassidy admitted what the Republicans of Louisiana Stagehouse noticed: Kennedy has a followers in Louisiana.
“My phone blows with people who really follow them,” said Cassidy and noticed that he asked him to vote him to confirm. “And there are many who trust them more than they trust their own doctor.”
This is partly due to Kennedy’s appearance before a complete hearing of the legislative committee of 2021 in Baton Rouge 2021 when he joined the GOV at the time. John Bel Edwards’s proposal, COVID-19 vaccinations to the list of shots required for the public students of the Louisiana.
At the invitation of the then General Prosecutor of Louisiana, Jeff Landry, Kennedy was celebrated by the opponents of the democratic governor’s proposal during the visit of Baton Rouge, many of the parent groups organized.
The appearance landed to the opponents of Edwards’ measure, which was defeated in the republican legislature, said, the then representative of Louisiana Rep. Julie Emerson, a member of the House Health and Welfare Committee.
“He is a bit of a folk hero in Louisiana,” said Emerson.
How does the hearing affect the political future of Cassidy?
Cassidy is already unpopular with a Louisiana Republican segment for the vote in January 2021 to condemn Trump after his second augment in office of January 6, 2021 attacked Trump -Hangers on the US Capitol. Cassidy’s coordination came shortly after he was sworn in into his second term.
He has drawn a primary challenger in the state treasurer John Fleming and consider others considering the race against him. Louisiana took over a primary election system for closed parties last year, which gave up the “jungle -primary” that cassidy gave a more silky way.
Previously, all candidates for the Senate Republican, Democrats and candidates of third-party third-party school were the same open primary school, where all registered voters could vote. If a candidate did not have 50 percent in this coordination, the two top booths would have a drain. This system favored better -known candidates with a crossing party. The up-to-date primary school would attract registered republicans and GOP system-independent.
Trump, who has a bonus for loyalty, has long been worried about Cassidy because of his office vote, say the Republican insiders of Louisiana, only a few see a scenario in which Trump promotes him. The best possible result for Cassidy could be, even if he votes for the confirmation of Kennedy so that Trump does not support anyone.
Nevertheless, a coordination against Kennedy for Cassidy within the party of his state would be outside step, said Senator Blake Miquez, a potential Cassidy Primary Challenger.
“We shouldn’t play the old DC games that are supposed to hinder Trump’s agenda,” he told the Associated Press.
How did Cassidy deal with Kennedy’s hearing?
Cassidy turned to the hearing with obvious allusions to his competing loyalities as a doctor and elected civil servant who represented a state in which Trump won 60 percent of the vote.
“I want President Trump to be successful,” he said at the opening of the Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee of the Senate, which he has chairman.
Nevertheless, Cassidy, Kennedy – albeit politely – tried to be created from Kennedy, tried a commitment to contradictory statements that combine vaccines for measles and hepatitis B with autism, a connection that has been widespread by medical researchers.
During the hearing, Cassidy remembered twice of his 18-year-old patient, who suffers from an acute liver failure who needed an emergency transplantation surgery, which would put a strain on doctor bills for the rest of her life. “At the value of fifty dollars worth fifty years, everything could have prevented this,” said the specialist for liver diseases.
“Your past undermines trust in vaccines with unfounded or misleading arguments,” he said.
At first, Kennedy seemed conciliatory: “If you show me data, I will be the first person to assure the American people that they have to take these vaccines.”
Cassidy said dissatisfied that he was worried, “that she was never familiar with anything that could contradict what they said before.”
Then Cassidy made another crack, this time Kennedy’s terms came to see the data first. “When the data is brought to you and these studies have been out there for some time,” he said.
Kennedy offered this restriction and was ecstatic to commit himself.
“I will not only do that,” he said, “I will apologize for all statements that people otherwise mislead.”
Did Cassidy tip his hand?
When asked by reporters in the days before the hearings, Cassidy said: “I am still working through. I look forward to the hearings and I will allow me to be able to guide my decision. “
When Cassidy suggested Kennedy at the end of the hearing at the end of the hearing to reach Kennedy at the weekend, he seemed to indicate that his concerns had not been removed.
In his final comments, Cassidy repeated his desire for the success of Trump and returned to Kennedy’s answer that he would promote vaccines that he had criticized as long as someone demonstrated their security.
Cassidy said he and Kennedy were admitted that families were vaccinated who were necessary and effective.
“But we got used to it differently,” he said with a touch of understatement.
“I think I can say that I did it with the predominance of evidence,” he said. “And they have spoken to selective evidence to throw doubts.”
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Beaumont reported from the Moines, Iowa.
