Politics

/

ArcaMax

RFK Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard win Senate committee votes

Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News on

Published in Political News

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard won the backing of Republican-led Senate committees Tuesday in party-line votes as President Donald Trump appeared to be on the cusp of winning confirmation of two of his most controversial Cabinet nominees.

The longtime vaccine skeptic won a 14-13 vote in the finance committee, including the backing of Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., a medical doctor who sharply questioned the nominee’s views on immunizations and was considered a possible no vote.

Kennedy’s nomination now heads to the full Senate, where he has decent odds of winning confirmation despite deep concerns from Democrats about the years of work he’s done sowing unfounded doubts about vaccines.

Like other Trump nominees, he would need the support of all but three Republicans if Democrats vote in lockstep to oppose him as expected.

Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Mitch McConnell of Kentucky are all seen as potential no votes.

 

In a CBS “60 Minutes” interview that aired Sunday, McConnell, a childhood polio survivor, declined to say how he would vote on RFK Jr. but reiterated that “vaccines are critically important.”

Gabbard, who Trump tapped to be director of national intelligence, later scored a 9-8 win in the intelligence committee after picking up the endorsement of Collins, a key moderate who sometimes bucks Trump.

The controversial former Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii angered some Republicans at her committee hearing by refusing to disavow her past support of Edward Snowden. She has also raised hackles with her pro-Russia views and her cozy ties to ousted Syrian dictator Bashir Assad.

Still, most Senate vote-counters believe almost all GOP lawmakers will shelve their concerns about Gabbard to avoid crossing Trump.


©2025 New York Daily News. Visit at nydailynews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

 

Comments

blog comments powered by Disqus

 

Related Channels

ACLU

ACLU

By The ACLU
Amy Goodman

Amy Goodman

By Amy Goodman
Armstrong Williams

Armstrong Williams

By Armstrong Williams
Austin Bay

Austin Bay

By Austin Bay
Ben Shapiro

Ben Shapiro

By Ben Shapiro
Betsy McCaughey

Betsy McCaughey

By Betsy McCaughey
Bill Press

Bill Press

By Bill Press
Bonnie Jean Feldkamp

Bonnie Jean Feldkamp

By Bonnie Jean Feldkamp
Cal Thomas

Cal Thomas

By Cal Thomas
Christine Flowers

Christine Flowers

By Christine Flowers
Clarence Page

Clarence Page

By Clarence Page
Danny Tyree

Danny Tyree

By Danny Tyree
David Harsanyi

David Harsanyi

By David Harsanyi
Debra Saunders

Debra Saunders

By Debra Saunders
Dennis Prager

Dennis Prager

By Dennis Prager
Dick Polman

Dick Polman

By Dick Polman
Erick Erickson

Erick Erickson

By Erick Erickson
Froma Harrop

Froma Harrop

By Froma Harrop
Jacob Sullum

Jacob Sullum

By Jacob Sullum
Jamie Stiehm

Jamie Stiehm

By Jamie Stiehm
Jeff Robbins

Jeff Robbins

By Jeff Robbins
Jessica Johnson

Jessica Johnson

By Jessica Johnson
Jim Hightower

Jim Hightower

By Jim Hightower
Joe Conason

Joe Conason

By Joe Conason
Joe Guzzardi

Joe Guzzardi

By Joe Guzzardi
John Micek

John Micek

By John Micek
John Stossel

John Stossel

By John Stossel
Josh Hammer

Josh Hammer

By Josh Hammer
Judge Andrew Napolitano

Judge Andrew Napolitano

By Judge Andrew P. Napolitano
Laura Hollis

Laura Hollis

By Laura Hollis
Marc Munroe Dion

Marc Munroe Dion

By Marc Munroe Dion
Michael Barone

Michael Barone

By Michael Barone
Michael Reagan

Michael Reagan

By Michael Reagan
Mona Charen

Mona Charen

By Mona Charen
Oliver North and David L. Goetsch

Oliver North and David L. Goetsch

By Oliver North and David L. Goetsch
R. Emmett Tyrrell

R. Emmett Tyrrell

By R. Emmett Tyrrell
Rachel Marsden

Rachel Marsden

By Rachel Marsden
Rich Lowry

Rich Lowry

By Rich Lowry
Robert B. Reich

Robert B. Reich

By Robert B. Reich
Ruben Navarrett Jr

Ruben Navarrett Jr

By Ruben Navarrett Jr.
Ruth Marcus

Ruth Marcus

By Ruth Marcus
S.E. Cupp

S.E. Cupp

By S.E. Cupp
Salena Zito

Salena Zito

By Salena Zito
Star Parker

Star Parker

By Star Parker
Stephen Moore

Stephen Moore

By Stephen Moore
Susan Estrich

Susan Estrich

By Susan Estrich
Ted Rall

Ted Rall

By Ted Rall
Terence P. Jeffrey

Terence P. Jeffrey

By Terence P. Jeffrey
Tim Graham

Tim Graham

By Tim Graham
Tom Purcell

Tom Purcell

By Tom Purcell
Veronique de Rugy

Veronique de Rugy

By Veronique de Rugy
Victor Joecks

Victor Joecks

By Victor Joecks
Wayne Allyn Root

Wayne Allyn Root

By Wayne Allyn Root

Comics

Rick McKee Al Goodwyn Joel Pett Bob Gorrell Jeff Danziger Mike Beckom