ASKING MR. KENNEDY — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will face his first vetting by lawmakers this morning when Senate Finance Committee members are sure to ask about his past comments on vaccines, federal health agency reform and abortion. It marks the first public opportunity for senators to probe whether he can run the sprawling federal health department, responsible for 80,000 employees and 13 supporting agencies. Kennedy has already privately met with most of the committee. Still, Kennedy’s confirmation hearing for HHS secretary is expected to be uncomfortable for both parties, given the nominee’s storied name, Democratic roots, history of spreading misinformation and troublesome headlines that include sexual assault allegations, affairs and potential mishandling of wildlife. It also comes amid a flurry of campaigns and letters for and against Kennedy’s nomination by doctors, patient advocacy groups, a former vice president’s conservative group and his family members. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who hails from Kennedy’s home state, has already sent the nominee a list of 175 questions and called his views on vaccine safety and public health “dangerous.” Meanwhile, several public health leaders and experts told POLITICO’s Joanne Kenen they want to hear Kennedy’s views on treatment for people with substance use disorders, Medicaid work requirements, block grants and the so-called germ theory of disease. Here are some lines of questioning we can expect today: On vaccines: Kennedy, who recently stepped down from the board of the anti-vaccine activist group Children’s Health Defense, has sown doubts about vaccines, repeated false claims that vaccines cause autism and suggested that the polio vaccine might have killed more people than polio itself. Financial disclosures made public last week also reveal that Kennedy could stand to gain from his lawsuit challenging Merck’s Gardasil vaccine, which prevents nine strains of HPV. Democrats will likely question and rebuke Kennedy on those views. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) told MSNBC recently he plans to come to the hearing with “the receipts.” It’s also possible that some Republicans — including Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), a gastroenterologist who has previously said Kennedy was “wrong” on vaccines — could jump in with their own questions. However, Republicans could instead seek to publicly affirm what Kennedy has been telling them: He isn’t against vaccines but is “pro-vaccine safety,” as Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) told reporters. On abortion: Kennedy’s past support for abortion rights — which a conservative group founded by former Vice President Mike Pence has cited in their condemnation of his nomination — could come up. Still, some pro-life Republicans, including Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.), say they’ve had their concerns about Kennedy’s prior abortion support assuaged after meeting with him. On federal health reform: Kennedy’s plans to overhaul health agencies — including his threat to fire officials at the FDA and the NIH who resist reform — are likely to be called into question. If Kennedy were to pursue even a fraction of the policy agenda he espoused as an activist, it would upend HHS and the public health system. He also might be questioned on how he’d change the FDA’s drug approval process, which he’s criticized for rejecting unproven therapies, including ivermectin for Covid-19. On his personal life: Sexual assault allegations — and admissions that he dumped a dead bear in Central Park and that the National Marine Fisheries Service was investigating him for cutting off a whale’s head and driving it home three decades ago — could also come up. WELCOME TO WEDNESDAY PULSE. Our team is covering Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s confirmation hearings today and tomorrow, including your host, FDA reporter Lauren Gardner, who’s helping with Pulse today. Please send your tips, scoops and feedback to lgardner@politico.com or ccirruzzo@politico.com and follow along @Gardner_LM and @ChelseaCirruzzo.
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