Robert F. Kennedy Jr. , Donald Trump ’s nominee to head the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services , has vow to solve America ’s “ chronic wellness epidemic , ” and , in so doing , “ Make America Healthy Again . ” Part of this great interior health glowing - upinvolves bringing new levels of transparencyto the Union administration , Kennedy has argued , which is ironic since , during his substantiation audition this workweek , the nominee was incredibly cagey about how he plan to run America ’s most authoritative wellness representation .
During Wednesday ’s hearing , Kennedy refuse to answer introductory questions about a variety of subjects . Would he support BAN on miscarriage medications , like mifepristone ? Did he think school shooting were cause by anti - depressants ? Would he support make cuts to Medicaid ? Did he support extending exercise set - to - expire revenue enhancement credits that have allowed low - income Americans access code to health care ? In all of these issues , Kennedy preferred evasion to definitive answers .
There was one question , however , that Kennedy was able to resolve with relative certainty : “ Is health care a human right ? ” Bernie Sanders asked the campaigner , at one point . The answer was unproblematic : No . The HHS oral sex nominee said that health care was not a human rightfield in the same way that , say , spare speech was a human right because , unlike free speech , health care be money and money , as we all know , is the only affair that matters in America .
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Kennedy was also treated to a broil from Sanders about a website associated with an organization that Kennedy previously founded — the Children ’s Health Defense — that sell anti - vax baby clothes . One of the issues at gambling during Kennedy ’s hearing was whether he would continue to profit from his anti - vaccination “ activism ” during and after his public avail . Kennedy observe that he had of late parted fashion with the organization in preparation for his Union position . Sanders then swap maneuver . “ Are you supportive of these onesies ? ” electric sander yelled at Kennedy , as the flustered nominee sputtered evasively . Sanders ’s onesie excursion added some much - needed levity to the hearing , which was otherwise a downhearted spectacle of political maneuvering .
While his critics see him as a bonkers ideologist , Kennedy ’s admirer largely watch him as a valiant revolutionary dedicated to fighting the monied violence that dominate the solid food and health care industries . I give in , however , that Kennedy is actually neither of these thing . Instead , I conceive he is just another power - thirsty twit with a penchant for grifterism who desire to throw role and is willing to do whatever is necessary to accomplish that goal .
Indeed , there is presently no evidence to support the premiss that Trump plans to do anything to “ make America intelligent again , ” or to set ahead Kennedy ’s bizarre wellness crusades , or to let him “ go wild , ” as hepreviously quip . For example , one of the sphere of the intellectual nourishment industry that RFK has often hook up with business organisation for is seed crude , which Kennedy has claimedare harmful to Americans ’ health . Trump lately pickedKailee Tkacz Bullerto be the chief of staff at the U.S. Department of Agriculture ( USDA ) . Buller ’s previous emplacement was as the President and CEO of the National Oilseed Processors Association ( NOPA ) . This is uniform with Trump ’s first administration when he hire Buller and other lobbyists from the snack food and corn sirup industries to write Americans ’ dietary guidelines and helm pivotal solid food agencies . Trump alsofamously likes snack food , so it ’s unclear why anyone would think he would be coarse on the companies responsible for develop them .
In general , Kennedy has revealed himself to befull - of - horseshit phonywho will grass any and all of his most often sweep up beliefs just for a chance to suckle at the power mammilla . Indeed , he somehow managed to spend over a decade lobbying on behalf of the environmental movement , only to rick around and plump for a political leader who has openly stated hewants to gut the EPA , politicize disaster relief funds , andopen up public landsfor drilling and development . Since being offered a top maculation in Trump ’s administration , he has also significantlybacktracked on his vaccine agnosticism , and reined in his more kooky talking point , in an patent effort to skate through his current confirmation process and allow himself a smooth conversion .
What became apparent at Kennedy ’s hearing , however , is n’t just that the serviceman is unforced to compromise most of his belief for approach to power . It also became ostensible that he is more than willing to act as a surrogate for the on-key policymakers in the Trump administration : the billionaire - backed libertarian right that wants to dash the federal bureaucracy , break up public eudaemonia programme , and revert all the money and the tycoon to the private sector . Kennedy openly criticized government - administered health care programs like Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act and seemed to involve that those programme should be discarded for strictly marketplace - based approaches to health services .
Kennedy alsopimped Medicare Advantage , a partially privatized version of Medicare that has been wide criticized for being more difficult to use and providing less insurance coverage . “ We ask to listen to what people prefer to be on , ” Kennedy said , which is suspicious since there has been anoutpouring of public angeragainst the Medicare Advantage plan , which have been characterized by patients as shitty and entrapping .
Still , this is all very much the line of the mass who help Trump get elect and who are currently meddling writing his policies . Project 2025 ’s plan for HHS states a desire topush Americans into Medicare Advantage planswhich , The Nation observe , would be “ a boon to secret insurance companies , since it fundamentally privatise the wildly popular public program . ” The labor has also suggest instituting work requirements for Medicaid recipients , suggests the abolishment of the Head Start computer programme , would aggressively go after abortion access , and would , generally , work to undermine the public sector ’s role in healthcare administration .
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.vaccines
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