House Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene has issued a stark warning to any GOP senators who refuse to confirm Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as the new secretary of health and human services (HHS).
Asked by CNN what would happen “if Senate Republicans don’t confirm him,” the Georgia firebrand replied: “Well then they have to deal with Donald Trump and they’ll have to deal with Elon Musk and his great new PAC and the American people.” Referring to the election victory on November 5 she added: “This is a mandate.”
Trump on Thursday announced he had nominated Kennedy to head the Department of Health and Human Services via a post on X. He said the former independent presidential candidate would “restore these Agencies to the traditions of Gold Standard Scientific Research, and beacons of Transparency, to end the Chronic Disease epidemic, and to Make America Great and Healthy Again!”
Following the November 5 elections there are now 53 Republicans elected to the Senate against 47 who are aligned with the Democrats. The confirmation process requires a simple majority, meaning Kennedy could be blocked if all Senate Democrats oppose his confirmation and they are joined by three GOP rebels.
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Newsweek contacted Greene’s congressional office for comment via telephone and voicemail message on Friday outside of regular office hours.
Kennedy’s nomination sparked controversy because of his previous statements about vaccines, which have seen him widely branded as a vaccine sceptic. During an interview with podcaster Lex Fridman, Kennedy answered “no” when asked if he believed there are any safe and effective vaccines on the market, and he suggested the polio vaccine had killed more people than it saved. He has also promoted discredited claims linking childhood vaccination to autism.
However, during a recent interview with MSNBC Kennedy insisted he doesn’t want to remove any vaccines from the market, commenting: “I’m not going to take away anybody’s vaccines. I’ve never been anti-vaccine.
“If vaccines are working for somebody, I’m not going to take them away.”
In July 2023, Kennedy was criticized after suggesting the coronavirus had been “ethnically targeted” to cause less harm to Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese people. The comments were made at a New York restaurant and a recording was later published by The New York Post.
At the restaurant Kennedy said: “COVID-19. There is an argument that it is ethnically targeted. COVID-19 attacks certain races disproportionately.
“COVID-19 is targeted to attack Caucasians and black people. The people who are most immune are Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese.”
‘Deplorable’ Comments
Kennedy’s remarks were condemned by members of his own family, who described them as “deplorable,” and he was branded “antisemite of the week” by the Jewish rights watchdog Stop Antisemitism.
Speaking to Newsweek, his spokesperson said: “Mr. Kennedy did not say and does not mean to imply that the COVID-19 virus was targeted to spare Jews. That characterization of his remarks is a malicious and inflammatory smear. Mr. Kennedy is a staunch supporter of the state of Israel and the Jewish people. He categorically repudiates the disgusting conspiracy theory falsely attributed to him.
“Mr. Kennedy does not believe that COVID-19 was ‘manufactured to target a specific ethnic group.’ He was only using that example to illustrate that such a thing is possible, and should be prevented.”
Trump also nominated House Republican firebrand Matt Gaetz as his attorney general, describing him as a “deeply gifted and tenacious attorney.”
However, Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska expressed scepticism about the move, commenting: “I don’t think it’s a serious nomination for the attorney general. We need to have a serious attorney general.”
