NewYork Times (16.12.2024) Robert F. Kennedy trifft sich mit Abgeordneten
Mr. Kennedy has begun meeting with Republican senators to build support for his confirmation, which could be imperiled by his anti-vaccine stance.
Reporting from Washington (Dec. 16, 2024) Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will meet lawmakers at the Capitol.Credit…Doug Mills/The New York Times
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President-elect Donald J. Trump’s choice for health secretary, began meeting with Republican lawmakers late Monday afternoon to make his case for a spot in Mr. Trump’s cabinet.
Mr. Kennedy, in the first of more than 20 planned meetings with Republicans, visited Senator Rick Scott of Florida, a staunch ally of Mr. Trump who has predicted that Mr. Kennedy will be confirmed to the post, despite facing scrutiny over his longtime anti-vaccine stance. Mr. Scott said they did not discuss Mr. Kennedy’s position on the polio vaccine, which has come under recent scrutiny since his lawyer asked the F.D.A. to revoke the vaccine’s approval.
“We both have the same goal with regard to vaccines,” Mr. Scott said, speaking about himself and Mr. Kennedy. “We want to give people more information so they can make informed decisions.”
Mr. Kennedy is expected to be questioned repeatedly about his views on vaccines and his stance on abortion access, which some social conservatives have criticized. He has said that he does not want to take away access to vaccines, but has questioned their safety, trying to link them to a rise in autism in children — a debunked theory.
On Friday, The New York Times reported that a lawyer helping Mr. Kennedy vet appointees for the incoming Trump administration had petitioned the government to revoke its approval of the polio vaccine. Seemingly in an effort to distance himself from the petition, Mr. Kennedy told reporters on Monday that he was “all for” the shot.
Senator Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader and a survivor of polio, suggested in a statement Friday that the petition could jeopardize Mr. Kennedy’s confirmation.
“Anyone seeking the Senate’s consent to serve in the incoming administration would do well to steer clear of even the appearance of association with such efforts,” said Mr. McConnell, who could be a key vote in Mr. Kennedy’s confirmation.
At a news conference Monday at Mar-a-Lago, his Florida estate, Mr. Trump had praise for both Mr. Kennedy as well as the polio vaccine: He said that he was a “big believer” in the vaccination.
“You’re not going to lose the polio vaccine,” Mr. Trump said. “It’s not going to happen.” Dr. Jonas Salk, who created the polio vaccine, had done a “great job,” he added.
Mr. Kennedy, he suggested, as health secretary would be “much less radical than you would think.”
“I think he’s got a very open mind or I wouldn’t have put him there,” Mr. Trump said. “He’s going to be very much less radical.”
Asked whether he believed there was a link between vaccines and autism, Mr. Trump cited increasing rates of autism in recent decades, suggesting there could be a relationship — a theory discredited by dozens of studies.
“There’s something wrong,” he said. “And we’re going to find out about it.”
Once nominated by a president, candidates for top-level positions in an administration must be confirmed by the Senate. Republicans will control the chamber, but their 53-47 majority means they can lose only a few votes and still confirm Mr. Trump’s picks.
Mr. Kennedy is also set to meet this week with Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, a more moderate Republican, and some physicians in the party’s conference, including Senator Roger Marshall of Kansas.
Mr. Kennedy, who ran for president as a Democrat and independent before dropping out of the race and endorsing Mr. Trump, will probably also be asked about views on abortion access.
Former Vice President Mike Pence has called on Republican senators to reject Mr. Kennedy, citing his record of support for abortion rights.
“On behalf of tens of millions of pro-life Americans, I respectfully urge Senate Republicans to reject this nomination and give the American people a leader who will respect the sanctity of life as secretary of Health and Human Services,” Mr. Pence said in a statement.
Chris Cameron contributed reporting.
Skip to contentSkip to site index
Advertisement
You have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load.
ASK Vanessa
Is It Ever OK to Go Barefoot in Public?
A shoeless talk-show appearance leads a reader to contemplate the current rules around going barefoot in public, and our critic weighs in on naked feet in fashion and society.
Angelina Jolie, unshod, with Jimmy Fallon on “The Tonight Show” this month.Credit…Todd Owyoung/NBC
Dec. 16, 2024
Is it really OK to go barefoot in public? I was shocked to see Angelina Jolie without shoes on “The Tonight Show.” Then I wondered if this would be the start of a trend? — Brooke, Tempe, Ariz.
It may seem strange to be discussing the ethics and aesthetics of bare feet in public as Christmas approaches, a time when many of us are contemplating the allure of fuzzy slippers and fleece socks. But very public fashion rule-breaking by celebrities has a way of starting conversations, not to mention trends, and Angelina Jolie did just show up on “The Tonight Show” couch in an elegant long black dress — and no shoes.
She said she had broken her toe the day before and couldn’t find comfortable footwear. Fair enough, though it’s hard not to wonder why a Birkenstock-like shoe wouldn’t have worked. In any case, the decision to forgo any kind of shoe — or sock! — was quite a statement during what Ms. Jolie said was her first talk show gig in about a decade.
It reminds me of when Kristen Stewart, during her stint on a Cannes Film Festival jury in 2018, got fed up with her high heels and simply mounted the red carpeted stairs without them, thus setting off a furor over the State of the Shoe, gender rules and why so many women still torture their feet in the name of fashion.
Conventional wisdom, at least in the West, has it that bare feet are for the beach and the swimming pool and are otherwise not for public consumption. (Some would say that even at the beach and the pool, flip-flops are a good idea.) Hence the fact that many restaurants and stores, at least in the United States, have a policy of “no shoes, no service.” But it is not actually against the law to go barefoot in public.
According to Susan Scafidi, the founder of the Fashion Law Institute at Fordham University, “Most barefoot bans simply reflect private dress codes put in place by restaurants, retailers and others concerned about safety and their own potential liability for splinters, slips and stubbed toes.”
The exception being the Occupational Safety and Health Act, which requires employers to ensure that employees wear protective footwear when necessary. And, Ms. Scafidi said, “a handful of state and local laws that require shoes in specific contexts, like water skiing in North Dakota, getting a haircut in Ohio, riding a motorcycle in Alabama or boarding a city bus in Racine, Wis.”