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By Tahar Rajab
News and Features Journalist
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Robert F. Kennedy Jr. faces a grilling from senators today in his bid to be confirmed as secretary of Health and Human Services for the new Trump administration.
At the forefront of the confirmation hearing will be Republican Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy, who is expected to challenge Kennedy on his vaccine skepticism and views on public health. His questioning will be one of the most scrutinized moments of the hearing.
Who Is Bill Cassidy?
Bill Cassidy is the senior Louisiana senator, a seat he's held since 2015, and Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP).
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A gastroenterologist, he was the first physician to help sit as HELP Ranking Member or Chairman since 1933.
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Is Bill Cassidy Married, And Does He Have Any Children?
Senator Bill Cassidy is married to Dr. Laura Cassidy, a retired general surgeon specializing in breast cancer. The couple has three children and one grandchild. Beyond her medical career, Laura Cassidy played a key role in founding a public charter school dedicated to educating children with dyslexia.
Bill Cassidy's Views On Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
In November 2024, Cassidy praised Kennedy's efforts in promoting better nutrition.
"RFK Jr. has championed issues like healthy foods and the need for greater transparency in our public health infrastructure," Cassidy said in a statement. "I look forward to learning more about his other policy positions and how they will support a conservative, pro-American agenda."
However, Cassidy said Kennedy was "wrong" about vaccinations earlier this year.
"I agree with him on some things and disagree on others. The food safety, I think the ultra-processed food is a problem," he said.
"Vaccinations, he's wrong on, and so I just look forward to having a good dialogue with him on that," Cassidy said.
Bill Cassidy On Donald Trump
Cassidy has criticized Trump, calling the 2024 presidential race a "sorry state of affairs."
"Is this a person we want to have an office?" he said of Trump in March 2024.
"That's why, again, many people continue to have reservations. And I say the best thing going for Donald Trump running for president is that he's running against Joe Biden, about whom many people also have reservations. And frankly, that's why people are considering third parties. So it's a sorry state of affairs," Cassidy said on NBC's Meet the Press.
The senator argued Trump's rhetoric toward migrants "reflected poorly" and labeled it "dehumanizing."
He also said Trump should drop out of the 2024 presidential race despite voting for the Republican in 2020.
"My threshold issue for any person who wants to be the leader of our country is, will you take care of the issues before us?" he said on CNN's State of the Union in August 2023. "Both Biden and Trump both have the same policy in Social Security, for example, which is to do nothing."
In February 2021, the Louisiana Republican Party censured Cassidy following his vote to convict Donald Trump in his second impeachment trial.
"The Executive Committee of the Republican Party of Louisiana has unanimously voted to censure Senator Bill Cassidy for his vote cast earlier today to convict former President Donald J. Trump on the impeachment charge," the state party said in a statement.
In a statement on his decision, Cassidy said: "Our Constitution and our country is more important than any one person. I voted to convict President Trump because he is guilty."
A year previously, Cassidy voted to acquit Trump of two impeachment charges, saying: "Congress must now work together to solve the issues concerning Americans, like lowering the cost of medication and ending surprise medical billing."
On Biden's 2020 election win, Cassidy wrote in a series of tweets: "I voted for President Trump, but Joe Biden won. The transition should begin for the sake of the country."
Earlier this month, Cassidy released a statement following a "good conversation between Trump and Senate Republicans," saying, "The American People voted for a pro-America agenda that secures the border and reduces inflation. I will work to do that."
What Does Donald Trump Think Of Bill Cassidy?
Trump has also been highly critical of Cassidy. The president ripped into the senator in April 2024 on Truth Social, calling Cassidy "one of the "worst" senators in the upper chamber and a "total flake."
"One of the worst Senators in the United States Senate is, without question, Bill Cassidy, A TOTAL FLAKE, Republican though he may be. He campaigned in the Great State of Louisiana on TRUMP, TRUMP, TRUMP, and was absolutely thrilled when he was able to get my very important Endorsement," Trump wrote.
"Cassidy is a total 'stiff,' but Louisiana didn't need him to protect them, because they had ME, 100%! Nevertheless, when the Democrats' Impeachment Hoax started, this Lamebrain Senator actually voted against me," he wrote later.
"He thought it was so "cool," until he got home, and was literally pelted with everything that could be used for such an inglorious happening, especially words, with lots of foul language thrown in."
In a statement released in October 2021, Trump also referred to Cassidy as "Wacky Bill" and argued that he was "a totally ineffective senator" who "could not even be elected dog catcher today."
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