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Why Aren’t More Democrats Speaking Out Against RFK Jr.’s HHS Nomination?

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As Robert F. Kennedy Jr. makes the rounds on Capitol Hill, talking this week with Republican senators about his contentious nomination to be Secretary of Health and Human Services, and as the media continues to unearth even more highly controversial statements the anti-vaccine advocate has made, almost 20 GOP lawmakers have begun to voice their support for the Trump nominee, while Democrats, widely expected to vote against confirmation, by comparison have been less vocal and less definitive.

The Washington Post is tracking the positions of all senators on RFK Jr.’s confirmation.

Currently, there are 19 Republicans indicating a “yes” vote or leaning to “yes,” and 18 Democrats indicating a “no” vote or leaning to “no.” Of the 19 Republicans, nine have already stated they will vote “yes.” Of the 18 Democrats, only four have said they will vote “no.”

U.S. Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) is among the nine GOP lawmakers who are backing the Kennedy scion’s bid to lead HHS.

On Tuesday, Scott issued a strong statement of support.

“Very impressive,” Scott, a former top healthcare executive, told Fox Business (video below). “I mean, here’s a guy that wants to focus on health. It’s called Health and Human Services. Health. Not sickness. So he wants to make us healthy. That’s exactly what we ought to do. I ran the biggest hospital company. I know we got to figure out how to get people healthy, that’s what he’s going to do. I think he’s going to do a great job.”

“With regard to vaccines, if you listen to what he says, he is pro-vaccine,” Scott continued, despite RFK Jr. stating just last year, “there is no vaccine that is, you know, safe and effective.”

RELATED: ‘This Is a Lie’: RFK Jr. Criticized by Experts, Including Trump Surgeon General

“What he wants is, give you information so you can decide what you put into your body, or your child’s body. It makes all the sense in the world to me.”

As head of the nation’s largest for-profit health care facility operator, Rick Scott’s company several decades ago defrauded federal government programs including Medicare and Medicaid. Scott, under pressure, resigned during the investigation. The company was convicted of 14 felonies and ultimately was forced to pay $1.7 billion, the largest health care fraud settlement in the nation’s history at the time.

In 1997, The New York Times called Scott the “executive who became the most visible symbol of profit-driven medical care,” and reported that he had “stepped down … as the top officer of the Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corporation, amid a criminal investigation of whether the company’s pursuit of profits has stretched beyond the legal limits.”

The four Democratic Senators who have voiced a hard “no,” according to The Post, are: Patty Murray of Washington, Alex Padilla of California, Dick Durbin of Illinois, and Ed Markey of Massachusetts.

“We can’t let the conspiracy theorists drive this debate and undermine public health,” Senator Murray remarked, according to The Post.

“His nomination to lead HHS is a threat to children and families everywhere,” Senator Padilla observed.

“He is totally unqualified for this job,” Senator Durbin declared.

“What we cannot do is sign off on nominees who would be a danger to the public health,” Senator Markey said.

Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) vowed to “vet him very, very closely,” but has not indicated which way she is voting or leaning.

Senator John Fetterman (D-PA), leaning no, said: “I’m not going to really take any kind of advice [from] a dude that chainsaws whale heads and delivers dead bears into a park.”

Senator Martin Heinrich (D-NM), also leaning no, remarked, “Just what we need. A guy with brain worms running the Department of Health and Human Services.”

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), who is listed as “leaning no,” by The Post, has recorded two videos against RFK Jr.’s confirmation, including one early Tuesday evening.

RELATED: RFK Jr., Embracing Far-Right, Spoke at Fundraiser for Anti-Government Group With J6 Ties

But even some Republican Senators have voiced apprehension:

“I’m very concerned, being the incoming chairman of agriculture,” Senator John Boozman (R-AR) said.

“I have never flinched from confronting specious disinformation that threatens the advance of lifesaving medical progress,” Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who fought polio as a child, remarked.

“Our Iditarod race was all about getting the diphtheria vaccine to save a whole community,” Senator Lisa Murkowski declared.

“If he has a different point of view [on vaccines], then he’ll have to explain,” said Senator Mike Rounds.

In addition to his statements against vaccines, including comparing vaccine mandates to the Holocaust, Kennedy’s confirmation process is also expected to be challenging given his lack of relevant experience, his promotion of conspiracy theories, and public scrutiny over his personal life.

“In addition to his lack of credentials or relevant experience in medicine, science, public health, or administration,” 77 Nobel laureates wrote in a letter earlier this month, “Mr. Kennedy has been an opponent of many health-protecting and life-saving vaccines, such as those that prevent measles and polio; a critic of the well-established positive effects of fluoridation of drinking water; a promoter of conspiracy theories about remarkably successful treatments for AIDS and other diseases; and a belligerent critic of respected agencies (especially the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control, and the National Institutes of Health).”

Watch the videos above or at this link.

READ MORE: ‘Should Be Looked At’: Trump Again Speaks Against Mandates for Childhood Diseases Vaccines

 

Image via Reuters

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News

Johnson Wavers After Agreeing to Debate Jeffries ‘Anywhere Anytime’

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7 hours ago

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October 15, 2025

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Republican Speaker Mike Johnson and Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries have agreed to a joint debate, following Jeffries’ proposal nearly two weeks ago to address the federal government shutdown.

“I write to challenge you to a debate on the Floor of the House of Representatives any day this week in primetime, broadcast live to the American people,” Leader Jeffries wrote in a letter on October 6. “Democrats have been clear and consistent in our position. The country needs immediate, bipartisan negotiations between the White House and congressional leadership in order to reach an enlightened spending agreement that reopens the government, improves the lives of hardworking American taxpayers and addresses the Republican healthcare crisis.”

Johnson subsequently declined to debate, according to The Hill.

But asked last week about debating Jeffries, Johnson said: “Hakeem, let’s sit down together, OK?”

READ MORE: ‘Republicans Are Doing Nothing’: Greene Turns Fire on Her Own Party

Jeffries on Tuesday agreed, telling reporters, “I look forward to that,” according to The Hill.

C-SPAN made the announcement on Wednesday, stating that both Johnson and Jeffries “have publicly agreed to appear jointly on C-SPAN’s Ceasefire program, hosted by POLITICO’s Dasha Burns.”

“We look forward to providing a forum for a smart, civil, respectful exchange of ideas between both leaders,” C-SPAN noted, saying it is “currently working with both offices on scheduling.”

On Wednesday, Johnson said he would debate Leader Jeffries, “anywhere, anytime,” before quickly pulling back.

“I’ll debate Hakeem Jeffries anywhere, anytime—as soon as we get the government open,” Johnson told Fox News, before attacking the Democrat for “engaging in political theater, and stating absurd things.”

READ MORE: ‘Pure Fascist’: Governor Blasted for Backing ‘Forever’ Federal Joint Policing Operation

Johnson then went on to blast the Democrats for, he claimed, voting to “shut the government down.”

“The Republicans in Congress, House and Senate, have voted to open the government, and nine times, Democrats in Congress have voted to close it, all but one,” he said before targeting the Democratic Leader.

“Hakeem Jeffries led the effort in the House.”

“I am so frustrated by this. We all are.”

READ MORE: ‘Political Propaganda’: Kristi Noem Stars in $51 Million DHS Ad Blitz Thanking Trump

 

Image via Reuters

 

 

 

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‘Republicans Are Doing Nothing’: Greene Turns Fire on Her Own Party

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9 hours ago

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October 15, 2025

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Once a die-hard MAGA foot soldier, U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is continuing to break with her party, now attacking Republicans and specifically Speaker Mike Johnson over the high cost of living and keeping the House in recess during the federal government shutdown.

“My big warning is, we have to take this very seriously, because if Republicans are responsible for doing nothing about this and regular, innocent Americans’ health insurance premiums double, they’re not gonna be able to pay their rent,” the Georgia Republican lawmaker said.

Americans, Greene noted, are “already getting crushed with the cost of living expenses that the Biden administration created, but have not come back down.”

READ MORE: ‘Pure Fascist’: Governor Blasted for Backing ‘Forever’ Federal Joint Policing Operation

“Food prices have gone up this year,” she said, in direct contradiction to President Donald Trump’s repeated statements to the contrary. As recently as Tuesday the president claimed, “groceries are down, it’s all down.”

“Even the Department of Agriculture,” Greene continued, “put out a report on that in August, and there’s many other problems — even potentially that we could see a slowdown in the economy next year, and I pray to God, not a recession.”

“So this is extremely serious,” she stressed. “Everyone should be talking about it, and here’s where I’m upset: Republicans are doing nothing.”

“The House is not in session, which I think is inexcusable. Mike Johnson should be calling us back because we should be working.”

Last week, Greene also criticized the Speaker over his refusal to bring the House back into session.

READ MORE: ‘Political Propaganda’: Kristi Noem Stars in $51 Million DHS Ad Blitz Thanking Trump

“I don’t think that it’s believable to tell the American people that while we control the White House, the House, and the Senate, that we can’t return to work in Washington, D.C., because Chuck Schumer and six other Democrats won’t vote to open the government,” Greene said.

“I just, I know people,” she continued. “They don’t believe that.”

House Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries on Wednesday echoed Greene’s lament: “House Republicans need to get back to work,” he said in a press conference.

The Bulwark on Tuesday had asked, “When even Marjorie Taylor Greene is talking about living in reality, maybe the ground is finally shifting?”

READ MORE: ‘Buzz Saw of Trouble’: Pentagon Chief’s Move May Backfire Warn Experts

 

Image via Shutterstock

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‘Political Propaganda’: Kristi Noem Stars in $51 Million DHS Ad Blitz Thanking Trump

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11 hours ago

on

October 15, 2025

By

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is reportedly this year’s biggest political ad spender, pouring tens of millions into spots that praise President Donald Trump and tell undocumented immigrants to leave the country.

Axios reported that while Homeland Security “disputes that its ads are political,” it has “spent at least $51 million this year on ads thanking President Trump for securing the border, according to AdImpact.”

Fox News Channel is the largest host of the ads, airing about $9 million worth of them so far.

The DHS ads are part of a larger $200 million contract pushing “self-deportation,” and promoting “Trump’s mass deportation agenda in a series of direct-to-camera videos starring the face of the policy, Secretary Kristi Noem.”

READ MORE: ‘Buzz Saw of Trouble’: Pentagon Chief’s Move May Backfire Warn Experts

Three of the ads say, “Thank you, President Donald J. Trump for securing our border and putting America first.”

In one, titled, “WARNING,” Secretary Noem says, “President Trump has a clear message for those that are in our country illegally. Leave now. If you don’t, we will find you and we will deport you. You will never return.”

“For too long, weak politicians left our borders wide open,” Noem continued, appearing to blame Democrats without mentioning any party. “They flooded our communities with drugs. Human trafficking and violent criminals. They put American lives at risk.”

“If you leave now, you may have an opportunity to return, and enjoy our freedom, and live the American dream,” Noem said. “But understand this. Under President Trump, America’s borders are closed to law breakers. Follow the law, and you’ll find opportunity. Break it, and you’ll find consequences.”

Axios noted that “‘President Trump’ is the most mentioned phrase across all the ads.”

READ MORE: ‘Do Not Love This Country’: GOP Escalates Attacks on ‘No Kings’ Movement

The two companies that created the ads did so by “bypassing the usual bidding process. DHS cited a[n] ‘unusual and compelling urgency’ to quickly award the contract.”

Separately, Secretary Noem is under fire for a DHS video in which she specifically blames Democrats for the federal government shutdown and its impacts on the TSA. Some airports across the country have refused to play the video, the Associated Press reported.

Critics blasted the spending.

“Using your tax dollars for political propaganda” wrote U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-DE).

“Your tax dollars and mine are being used to thank President Trump. That’s right, the biggest political ad spender of 2025 is DHS using your money,” noted The Bulwark’s Sarah Longwell.

READ MORE: ‘Seem Very Nervous’: Top Trump Officials Blasted After Lashing Out at ‘No Kings’ Protests

 

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