Health and Human Services (HHS) nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. got into a heated exchange with Democratic Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren as she accused him of wanting to profit off of banning vaccinations.
Warren pressed Kennedy to agree that he will not accept any compensation from any lawsuits against drug companies during his potential time as HHS Secretary and for four years after he leaves office. The nominee refused to commit to not suing drug companies and accused the senator of asking him not to sue these organizations under any circumstance.
“I’ll commit to not taking any fees from drug companies while I’m secretary … you’re asking me to not sue drug companies and I will not agree to that,” Kennedy said.
“No, you can sue drug companies as much as you want!” Warren said.
“I am not going to agree not to sue drug companies or anybody,” Kennedy said.
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Warren said Kennedy would have the power to influence lawsuits against drug companies by putting his “anti-vaccine conspiracies” on U.S. government letterheads, inform the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) vaccine panel to remove a particularly vaccine and remove vaccines from special compensation programs.
“There’s a lot of ways that you could influence those future lawsuits and pending lawsuits while you are secretary of HHS and I’m asking you to commit right now that you will not take a financial stake in every one of those lawsuits so that what you do as secretary will also benefit you financially down the line,” Warren said.
“I will comply with all ethical guidelines … you’re asking me not to sue vaccine companies,” Kennedy said, prompting denial from Warren. “Yeah you are, that’s exactly what you’re doing.”
The senator claimed Kennedy could make millions of dollars as he takes away vaccines from Americans and that he will “cash in” on children dying from serious diseases.
“As secretary of HHS, Robert F. Kennedy will have the power to undercut vaccines and vaccine manufacturing across our country. And for all of his talk about follow the science and his promise that he won’t interfere with those of us who want to vaccinate his kids, the bottomline is the same. Kennedy can kill off access to vaccines and make millions of dollars while he does it,” Warren said. “Kids might die, but Robert Kennedy can keep cashing in.”
“Senator, I support vaccines. I support the childhood schedule, the only thing that I want is good science, that’s it,” Kennedy said.
Kennedy assured NBC News in November that he would not “take away anybody’s vaccines” but wants to ensure that Americans have the independent choice to decide whether the product is good for them. He repeatedly said during his confirmation hearing that he supports vaccines and that they “play a critical role in healthcare,” but he has received widespread criticism for challenging the status quo.
Trump told NBC’s Kristen Welker in December that Kennedy will investigate any links between childhood vaccines and autism.
Former President George W. Bush signed a bill in 2005 to protect vaccine manufacturers from liability if patients are injured as a result of the shot. Over 30 Republicans introduced legislation in September to reverse these protections to allow Americans to “seek justice or compensation for vaccine related injuries.”
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