Congress

Bill Cassidy offered RFK Jr. an out. He didn’t take it.

Published

2 years ago

January 30, 2025

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s bid to lead the Department of Health and Human Services could come down to one senator. That senator, Bill Cassidy (R-La.), said he was deeply torn about his vote during a hearing of the Senate committee in charge of health policy on Thursday.

Cassidy, the panel’s chair and a gastroenterologist before entering politics, spoke of his own experience with life-saving vaccines and repeatedly asked Kennedy to disavow his past anti-vaccine advocacy.

Kennedy said he’d review the evidence and “apologize for any statement that misled people” if proven wrong, but also indicated he didn’t think he was wrong when he spent years linking vaccines to rising autism and chaired an anti-vaccine advocacy group.

Appearing frustrated, Cassidy said, “I’ve got to figure that out for my vote” and said he might reach out to Kennedy over the weekend to talk about it more.

Cassidy’s vote is critical because he also sits on the Finance Committee, which heard Kennedy’s testimony yesterday and will cast the vote on whether to recommend Kennedy’s confirmation to the Senate. The Republicans have a one-seat edge there, so if all the members of the Democratic caucus oppose Kennedy, Cassidy could deny him the panel’s recommendation.

Cassidy could also allow Kennedy’s nomination to proceed to the Senate floor without the Finance panel’s recommendation, but Majority Leader John Thune told Semafor earlier this week that it wouldn’t be ideal to bring another one of President Donald Trump’s nominees — Tulsi Gabbard, who is also facing confirmation hearings to lead the nation’s intelligence agencies this week — to the floor without a favorable committee vote.

When Cassidy asked for a “yes” or “no” as to whether Kennedy would unequivocally say hepatitis B and measles vaccines do not cause autism, Kennedy qualified his answer: “If the data is there, I will absolutely do that.”

At the end of the hearing, Cassidy returned to the question, reading the title of a study that found no link between vaccines and autism.

Cassidy seemed to plead with Kennedy to renounce his past claims: “Convince me,” Cassidy said.

But Kennedy declined. “You and I can meet about it,” he said — adding that he would bring his own studies, some of which show “the opposite.”

Over the course of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing, Kennedy said he would make declarations on vaccine safety “if the data is there” or if presented with further evidence.

Democrats on Cassidy’s health panel quoted Kennedy statements questioning vaccine safety, arguing that the vociferousness of his anti-vaccine views belied the assurances he was offering Cassidy about studying the data.

“There have been, as I understand, dozens of studies done all over the world that make it very clear that vaccines do not cause autism,” the panel’s ranking member, Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said. “I heard you just say, if the evidence is there. The evidence is there.”

Democrats also raised Kennedy’s shaky responses on Medicare and Medicaid, arguing that he didn’t understand the programs he would be in charge of managing. Cassidy had questioned Kennedy about the programs when the Finance Committee heard from Kennedy yesterday.

But Republicans on the committee made the case that Kennedy’s desire to disrupt the public health establishment and concentrate on finding and combating the root causes of disease — the focus of Kennedy’s “Make America Healthy Again” — movement were refreshing.

Some also argued Kennedy’s skepticism about vaccines was healthy and that the nation’s top health official should be willing to question scientific dogma.

Kentucky Republican Rand Paul turned toward Cassidy and argued that in some cases government guidance on vaccination was debatable, citing the recommendation that all infants receive the hepatitis B vaccine and that children and healthy, young people get Covid shots. “You’re not going to let him have the debate because you’re just going to criticize and say, ‘It is this and admit to it or we’re not going to appoint you.’”

That prompted an exchange with Cassidy over the necessity of infant vaccination for hepatitis B, with Cassidy arguing it was.

Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) later commended Kennedy for questioning the vaccine schedule. “An issue that I have as a father of six is that when my kids come out from getting their vaccines they look like a freakin’ pin cushion,” he said. “When you start looking at the rise of autism, why wouldn’t we be looking at everything?”

Kennedy at times tried to assuage concerns about his anti-vaccine history, saying he would “restore vaccine uptake.” He repeatedly suggested that government leaders aren’t trustworthy and argued that is the reason many people refuse vaccines.

Democrats looked united in their opposition to Kennedy, but it wasn’t clear whether they could hope for any Republican allies beyond Cassidy.

Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Susan Collins (R-Maine), who have both shown a willingness to break from Trump, voting last week against his choice to lead the Pentagon, Pete Hegseth, suggested concern about Kennedy’s anti-vaccine work.

Murkowski was one of few senators to attend the entire hearing, but didn’t ask Kennedy about vaccination, and ended by questioning Kennedy about health care in Alaska. After the hearing, she said she didn’t think there was anything “brand new” from the hearing and declined to elaborate on how she’d vote.

Asked whether she was convinced Kennedy is not a vaccine skeptic, Murkowski said she was ignoring the question. But she went on to say that some questions were “telling,” that he seemed skeptical of the safety of some vaccines but not others.

“When the science has been out there for a long time and been proven, do you need to continue being the skeptic?” she asked after the hearing.

Collins arrived late to the hearing and asked Kennedy whether he’d invest in finding a vaccine for Lyme disease and whether he backed polio vaccination. Kennedy said yes.

Robert King contributed to this report.

Congress

Chris Murphy plans midterm travel blitz, fundraising for Nixon in Florida

Published

2 hours ago

October 9, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Sen. Chris Murphy wants Democrats to go big for Angie Nixon in Florida’s Senate race — and he’s pushing to raise some “serious money” to help.

“I do believe that we’d make a big mistake if we slept on Florida,” the Connecticut Democrat told Blue Light News on Friday. “I know it feels like a longer shot, but I just think this year is looking exceptional.”

Murphy plans to hit the trail with Nixon as part of a campaign swing for Senate candidates over the next three weeks that will take him through North Carolina and Florida, as well as events with Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan, Peggy Flanagan in Minnesota and Chris Pappas in New Hampshire. Murphy will serve as a surrogate for El-Sayed in the spin room at his next debate, and said he’s “just a big believer” in the Michigan Senate nominee.

Murphy’s bullishness about a blue wave comes as Senate Democrats are pushing the boundaries of a midterm battle map that is shifting further into red territory. The Chuck Schumer-aligned Senate Majority PAC has dropped roughly $5 million apiece into Texas and Kansas over recent days, and the minority leader has included Kansas and Mississippi in his pitches to donors.

“If I were in charge, I would definitely put some resources in Florida,” Murphy said. “When you have an exciting candidate like this, it’s a good long-term investment” in growing Democrats’ activist base.

Still, Murphy stressed he’s “not making any formal recommendations” on where Schumer or top Democratic campaign groups should move their money.

“They’ve got so many mouths to feed,” Murphy said. “That’s why I’m going to try to step up and do some work on my own.”

Murphy, who is considered a potential 2028 presidential contender, has spread roughly $2.5 million across candidates, campaign arms and other organizations this cycle. That includes transferring more than $500,000 to Democrats’ three top campaign arms and 25 state parties.

Prominent Democrats have been ramping up their attention on Florida. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has funneled $250,000 toward Nixon’s campaign, along with other resources. Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) also told Blue Light News he hopes to campaign with Nixon.

But Democrats across suddenly competitive red states are clamoring for more cash and Florida is an expensive state, complicating the chances of a significant investment from national groups.

Nixon also faces an uphill battle against GOP Sen. Ashley Moody in the Sunshine State. A progressive state lawmaker, Nixon aligned herself with the Democratic Socialists of America over the summer in a state where many voters, especially those with ties to Cuba, reject such an ideology. Also, Republicans in Florida have a 1.5 million voter registration advantage over Democrats.

Congress

Democrats drop $5M into Kansas Senate race

Published

5 hours ago

October 9, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Senate Democrats’ top super PAC is pushing into Kansas.

The Chuck Schumer-aligned Senate Majority PAC is launching a $5 million statewide television ad blitz starting Saturday through Election Day — the latest sign that Democrats believe the Senate map is shifting onto red turf.

SMP had signaled in recent days it could get involved in the race, telling Blue Light News late last month it was “actively thinking” about whether to wade into the state where Democrats haven’t won a Senate seat in nearly a century but where Adam Hamilton narrowly leads GOP Sen. Roger Marshall in recent polls. Internal SMP polling that found an increasingly competitive race factored into the group’s decision to spend. It will also run digital ads.

“The gap is closing in Kansas,” SMP spokesperson Lauren French said in a statement. “We are committed to ensuring families understand Marshall’s real record of making health care and basic goods more expensive for working Kansans.”

Republicans are scrambling to shore up Marshall. Senate Leadership Fund, a top GOP super PAC aligned with Republican leadership, has booked over $10 million in ads through Election Day in the state, per ad tracking firm AdImpact.

SMP’s first ad attacks Marshall for joining Senate Republicans in voting to table a Democratic-led amendment last year to release the Jeffrey Epstein files. The Senate later approved legislation to release the files by unanimous consent. It’s the latest in a slate of ads from Democrats hitting their Republican rivals over the late, disgraced financier and convicted sex offender. Marshall’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Senate Democrats’ plunge into the state comes as the midterm battle map is undergoing a major realignment. Georgia and North Carolina — primed to be two of the cycle’s premiere battlegrounds — are tilting left to the point where national Republicans are retracting spending in both states and Democrats are starting to follow suit, freeing funds on both sides to shift elsewhere.

Republicans are racing to reinforce incumbents across what was once safer red turf. SLF has also pledged $5 million to bolster Sen. Darline Graham in South Carolina.

Democrats, meanwhile, are starting to spend more in red states. SMP has dropped over $2 million on digital ads in Texas. Schumer, the Senate minority leader, has included Kansas and Mississippi in his pitches to donors.

Congress

House Democratic campaign arm says it needs $17 million, and fast

Published

6 hours ago

October 9, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is begging for resources, and setting a hard deadline for donors to give $17 million in order to compete in a handful of districts that Republicans carried easily in 2024.

DCCC Executive Director Julie Merz said the committee needs the cash influx by Oct. 22 in order to “to take advantage of the opportunities we have” outside of the core battlefield, according to a memo shared with donors on Friday and obtained by POLITICO.

If they don’t pony up, Merz warns, the party “could be leaving winnable races on the table.”

Democrats have been clear that they have a fundraising disadvantage this cycle, but they have so far been reluctant to place a specific dollar amount on their needs, making the DCCC’s memo Friday a particularly surprising outlier.

“Here’s the tough reality though: the Republican ecosystem has amassed a massive war chest that is significantly greater than ours and is spending it,” Merz says in the memo after arguing that the members of the committee “remain confident that we will win back the majority in 25 days.”

Specifically, Merz dedicates significant portions of the memo to four districts where the committee is desperate for more money in order to compete — all of which President Donald Trump won by double-digit margins in 2024:

— Florida’s 27th District (Trump +14.6)

— Nevada’s 2nd District (Trump +13.9)

— South Carolina’s 1st District (Trump +13)

— New York’s 21st District (Trump +20.7)

The fundraising disadvantage has created headaches for both House and Senate Democrats over where, exactly, to deploy the resources they do have.

The committee tells donors that their internal polling shows all of those races within reach, but that Republicans’ big cash advantages — especially in the Trump-aligned super PAC MAGA Inc. — will make it harder to win those and other reach seats.

Merz also name drops a handful of other deep-red districts that are “worthy of additional investment in this environment,” including seats held by GOP Reps. French Hill (R-Ark.) and Richard Hudson (R-N.C.), the chair of the Republican National Congressional Committee.

The NRCC was quick to mock the DCCC’s memo.

“No amount of money fixes candidates voters don’t want. These seats are staying red, and Republicans are on offense across the map,” NRCC spokesperson Mike Marinella said in a statement.