and given my statement, that leaves the question, it's pretty simple, do senators want their legacy to include disregarding basic health science and instead elevate the spirit the ferris? health and human services in my view, it would be a grave threat to the health of the american people and i urge my colleagues to vote no. >> we have our members here. we agreed will have two or three on each side who want to make statements do so before the vote. old probably have those made and we will to the boat. >> got several colleagues under the impression that we would have two or three, i'm happy for both sides, i'd like to stay with that. >> i did make that commitment so i could say on my side and appreciate if you hold remarks until after the bullet a couple on your side no and proceed to the boat. >> when you said to every people, i wasn't sure who you have in mind of being next in seniority, i appreciate the opportunity. today is very concerning to me because of the future. allen, $100 million to fight. i think of bill gates and the gates foundation not just trying to eradicate polio and work issues but a regime that is not just a ration but global health of the university of washington cancer res

department of health and human services. we are still waiting to get all of our members here, and while we wait for that to occur, we will proceed with statements. i will proceed first, then senator wyden, and then we will rotate from one side to the other until we are at a point where we will prepare for the vote. is that good with you? sen. wyden: yes, sir. chair crapo: mr. kennedy, if confirmed, will have the opportunity to deliver much-needed change to our nation's health care system. he has spent his career fighting to end america's chronic illness epidemic and has been a leading advocate for health care transparency both for patients and for taxpayers. mr. kennedy has also clearly responded to our questions during the rigorous due diligence process and his hearing also and in the course of answering over 900 questions for the record that were asked by members of this committee. in response to members of the committee, mr. kennedy has even amended his ethics agreement, going beyond what is required by the government offi

we were very supportive of alex azar when he was the secretary of health and human services. this is about getting somebody who can protect the health of the american people. host: referring to the first trump administration alex azar who served as health and human services secretary. when it comes to public health policy, what are you watching during these first few days of the trump administration? guest: the challenge and the tragedy is absolute chaos. it took them a while to name acting directors but some of the most damaging things is they have stopped communication of people in the agency, even routine communications. sharing data. we hear they are scrubbing websites and taking things from websites. we are in the middle of a major h5n1 bird flu outbreak and at the proper data that needs to go out to the states for them to manage the outbreak is not happening in a meaningful way. they have stopped all funding the other day. there was a big brouhaha about that. we are one of the organizations that did sue them to get them to rescind that. that process is still going on. wh

their legacy to include disregarding basic health science and instead elevate conspiracy theorists making robert kennedy secretary of health and human services in my view would be a grave threat to the health of the american people. and i urge my colleagues this morning to vote no. >> senator wyden we have all of our members here. senator wyden and i have agreed we'll have two or three on each side who wanted to make statements do so before the vote. so please, everyone, hold with us while we have those statements made and then we will proceed to the vote. i know we have a lot of folks pushing on some -- you want to vote now? >> mr. chairman, i've got several colleagues who were under the impression, after we talked, that we would have two or three -- i'm happy for both sides to make brief remarks and i still would like to stay with that. >> i did make that commitment and so i can say to my colleagues on my side i would appreciate it if you would hold your remarks until after the vote. we'll let a couple on your side have their remarks and then we'll proceed to the vote. who would be next? senator cantwell. >> i didn't know who you had in mi

health. >> and human services. >> secretary will move forward. and it.ains unclear whether. >> the divisive anti-vaxxer. >> has enough support. >> to make it out. >> of. >> the finance committee. this vote. >> would ultimately. >> come down to a republican. senator and a doctor here, louisiana's. bill cassidy. let's bring in nbc's chief. >> capitol hill. >> correspondent, ryan nobles. also, peter baker, chief. >> white house correspondent for the new. >> york times, and. >> doctor vin gupta, msnbc medical contributor. >> ryan. >> walk us through. what we expect. >> to happen. >> and which senators. >> we should be watching. >> we're monitoring it right now on the senate finance committee, expected to gavel in at any moment. and that's when they'll begin the process of voting out the confirmation of robert f kennedy jr as the secretary of health and human services. the signal that we've gotten from almost every republican on the panel is that they're a yes vote. if every republican votes yes and every democrat votes no, he will move on to the next stage.

their legacy to include disregarding basic health science and instead elevate conspiracy theorists making robert kennedy, secretary of health and human services? in my view, colleagues would be a grave threat to the health of the american people. and i urge my colleagues this morning to vote no. >> we had everybody here. can i ask that we do the vote now and then do the. why don't you do the 2 or 3 on each? and then we go to the vote. can i go? yeah, we're going to do it. >> so, senator wyden, we have all of our members here. senator wyden and i have agreed that we will have 2 or 3 on each side who wanted to make statements do so before the vote. so, please, everyone, hold with us while we have those statements made, and then we will proceed to the vote. i know we've got a lot of folks here pushing on some. do you want to vote now? >> let's go, mr. chairman. mr. chairman. >> mr. chairman, i've got several colleagues who were under the impression after we talked that we would have 2 or 3. and i'm happy for both sides to make brief remarks. and i'd still like to stay with that. >> i did make that commitment. and so i could say to my colleagues

health science and instead elevate conspiracy theorists? making robert kennedy secretary of health and human services in my view, colleagues, would be a grave threat to the health of the american people. >> democrats question his past when president trump picked him for the job and have reservations about what mr. trump said regarding his health policy. warnock. >> donald trump said he was going to allow mr. robert kennedy to, quote, go wild on health. go wild. of all the things that i can think of that i would like to see a secretary of health and human services do go wild is not on the list. >> we expect cassidy to explain his vote on the floor shortly. also the senate intelligence committee votes today on the nomination of tulsi gabbard to be director of national intelligence and gop indiana senator todd young says he will support gabbard. >> harris: chad, thank you. minute-by-minute. in "focus" new gianno caldwell. we are finally starting to see some movement even though we're probably a week away from that final floor vote for rfk, jr. big news today. >> quite big. i'm so excited. pam bondi, to see her sworn in as attorney general and

donald trump's picture run the department of health and human services, two days of intense hearings. and center behind him, she made it her life's work to change america's food supply and she joins us now, the food bed, i know how much it means to you, i know he represents the movement i would argue that you founded, how did he do? >> he did phenomenal held his own in the hearing and the whole purpose of confirmation hearings is to grill the person really hard and uphold your special interest. big pharma, big food but they were grilling him and the political parties like the fact that this line of questioning was down little lines was disgusting for someone like me because i'm coming at this from a bipartisan perspective. human health is not a partisan issue. poison is not artisan. we are being decimated in terms of our health outcomes. we spend the most on healthcare. we have the worst health outcomes. there's a larger elephant in the room that day not being addressed which is really disheartening to me, the fact that we have the most highest rates of chronic obesity, diabetes and h

ashley: the senate finance committee voted to advance robert f kennedy to be health and human serviceso the full senate for a vote. chad pergram on capitol hill and you say it's about the math so does the math work for rfk jr.? reporter: on the floor we don't know just yet. but the finance committee voted 14-13 along party lines to send nomination to the florida. gop louisiana senate bill cassidy agreed to vote yes after deeming "intense conversations". still questions linger about vaccines. >> only way bobby kennedy and i will cross wise and if he does actually take a position against the safety of proven vaccines and that'll be a problem for me. >> it'll be at least a week or more before kennedy's nominee nation hits the floor. could be gop noes there and democrats are united in their opposition of kennedy. >> do senators want their legacy to include disregarding basic health science and instead elevate conspiracy theorists and it would be a grave threat to the health of the american people. reporter: they questioned kennedy's past when president trump picked him for the job and have

just cleared a major hurdle in his path to become health and human services secretary. the senate finance committee advancing his nomination along party lines. and it all came down to gop senator bill cassidy, who ultimately voted yes. i want to go straight to cnn's manu raju on capitol hill. manu, what more are we learning about cassidy's decision to vote yes? >> well, this was a surprise. well, for people on both sides, they really did not know how he would ultimately come down because he had been struggling with this nomination. he said that publicly last week. he had not made a decision on that as of last night. this morning, he indicated in a post on x that he had had a number of conversations all up until this critical vote, and he posted on social media saying that he had intense conversations with bobby kennedy over the weekend, as well as with the white house. he said he'd received some, quote, serious commitments from the administration. he also indicated that he spoke to the vice president, jd vance, in order to get to. yes, but he really has not tipped his ha

s nomination to lead the department of health and human services. senate intelligence committee advanced former congresswoman tulsi gabbard's nomination to serve as director of national intelligence. our congressional correspondent lisa desjardins is following the cabinet confirmation process and joins us now. lisa, let's start with hhs first, since it is one of the largest federal agencies. what is the committee's vote mean? lisa: unless something changes, rfk junior will become the next hhs secretary. there are enough votes on the floor for him. he is a 71-year-old, of course, who does not have a history or expertise in health care. he spent years researching and writing about health care. he does deserve credit for changing the conversation about processed foods, and that is what we heard during his senate confirmation hearing, but at the same time, there are open doubts about his views and passed statements about vaccines, studies have shown there is no link between autism and vaccines, and that raised real concerns about him. you can hear are ve

finance committee vote on whether to recommend the nomination of robert f kennedy junior as health and human services secretary. if so, his nomination will go to e senate floor for a vote. we will cover this live. >> alive form involving you to discuss the latest issues in government, politics, and public policy. from washington to across the country. tuesday morning, or the executive director of the center for immigration studies will talk about the recent deportation actions and broader immigration policy. a bloomberg news reporter will talk about elon musk's role in the government. and a texas congresswoman will talk about her legislative priorities and the democrats approach to the trump administration and the republican congress. join in the conversation live at 7:00 eastern tuesday morning.

kennedy to be the secretary of health and human services. i would, i spoke with mr. kennedy not once, but multiple times over the weekend including this morning. we had in-depth conversations about the medical literature, about the science behind the safety of vaccines, i reviewed and spoke to those who he said i should speak to. the most notable of opponents of mr. kennedy were peed trigsz on the front lines of our children's health who regularly have to combat misinformation. combating vaccine skepticism with correct information. correct information that comes from their indication -- education, their training and experience a they would not have contracted if the have contracted if the child was vaccinated. others are looking at the need to address chemicals in our food and that we are victims of the forces maximizing profits while sacrificing our health. there is evidence for that. although food safety is principally a food and drug administration. others fear an environmental risk. mr. kennedy's history of of he can make a difference. so

right now on the verge of an incredibly close vote and could get confirmed for secretary of health and human services. >> it is interesting to think about what would have happened had democrats and democratic president nominated an rfk jr.. as health and human services secretary, what republicans might have been saying about him. >> yeah, exactly. i think that you'd see pretty much uniform opposition to rfk if that was the case. >> mark, i do want to ask you about the latest twist in how this administration, the new trump administration, is dealing with what happened on january 6th, because obviously, it started out with the pardon of unilateral pardon of people, even those who beat up police officers who were convicted of violence against cops. now, we've reported here that fbi agents, fbi personnel are have been given a 12 question questionnaire around their involvement in investigating january 6th. is that appropriate? and does that presage a potential purge of our law enforcement officers who held people accountable for their actions that day? >> i think it's incredibly wrong. i think the reality

, really appreciate it and ulcerative appreciate the leadership of our own typos sick of health and human services kate walsh. -- our own fabulous secretary of health and human services kate walsh. [applause] we still have much work to do. patients are paying more than ever for premiums and out-of-pocket costs. oftentimes just so hard to get an appointment. it was frustrating, isn't it? it's unacceptable. it should be unacceptable in our state so we got to change it. here's what i think we need to do. i know i'm going to direct my administration to shift healthcare resources to the front lines. what do i mean by the front lines? i mean primary care. [applause] primary care. if we focus on primary care, we're going to get rid of a lot of other problems that become a lot more complex and hard people and families. and also a lot more expensive. i would love to build a whole army of primary care providers to be out there across the state so when you call for appointment you're actually going to get one. you get the care that you need where and when you need it. [applause] and finally, our leadership i

with a $30 million budget which is a rounding error in the budget for the department of health and human services. host: critics of rfk junior believe he does not know how medicare and medicaid work. do you share >> we are going to leave this here and go live to the headquarters of the treasury department, where democratic lawmakers have gathered to protest elon musk's access to the agency as well as being hosted by moveon civic action, indivisible, and working families party. >> i want to thank you for joining us.

> members of the senate finance committee discuss the nomition of robert f kennedy to be health and human services secretarynd vote to enhance his nomination. that's next. cretary of state marco rubio talking about the funding phrase of u. foreign aid. later, president trump senior advisor on trade and manufacturing discussing the trump administration's threat of tariffs against mexico and canada. >> nbc news and others are reporting that the trump administrati is preparing an executive order for president trump that would alish the education department. the article goes on to note that the president must get congressional approval for such a move. during mr. tru's campaign he promised to get rid of the federal department and posted a video message in 2023 that said, "one other thing i will be doing very early in the administration is closing up the department of education in washington, c. and sending all education and education work and needs back to the states. the department of education was created in 1970 nine by president jimmy cter." wednesday, a look at ways to increase government efficie

as health and human services and the senate intelligence committee is set to vote behind closed doors on the nomination of tulsi gabbard to be director of national intelligence. >>> and the fbi is facing a deadline of noon today to turn over to the justice department the names of employees who worked on cases related to the january 6th riot at the u.s. capitol. it comes one day after there was another deadline for thousands of fbi agents and employees to fill out a trump administration questionnaire asking about their roles investigating the capitol insurrection. there's concern the president could be taking retribution against those involved in investigating january 6th. >>> secretary of state marco rubio says el salvador's president is offering to accept deported migrants from the u.s. of any nationality including violent american criminals currently in prison. rubio made the announcement during a signing ceremony on an unrelated matter with el salvador's foreign minister following a meeting with the president. after rubio spoke, a u.s. official said the trump administration has no

rachel: health and fitness influencers are backing rfk junior for health and human service he's seconddvocating for prioritizing healthy foods over pharmaceuticals during his senate hearings last week. listen. >> we need to get rid of the conflicts in the agency that obstruct those studies and that is -- that are focused on advancing the mercantile interest of the food industry and the pharmaceutical industry rather than the health of the american people. rachel: amen to that. integrated nutritionist and real foodology podcast host courtney swan joins us now. what's your take away from this hearing and the sparks that we saw between the politicians and rfk junior? >> yeah, thank you so much for having me on. look, moms are largely the ones that are really supporting him. in fact, they packed hearing halls, senator cassidy said he's never gotten so many calls for a nomination before. moms are really seeing the effect of this rise in chronic disease in their children and to be quite honest they're tired. they're tired of being manipulated. americans are tired of the grocery store being a

department of health and human services. i want to thank president trump for entrusting me to deliver on his promise to make america healthy again. i also want to thank cheryl and get and bobby and all of my other children who are here today and all of the many members of my large extended family for the love that they have so generously shared. ours has always been a family that has been involved in public service, and i look forward to continuing that tradition. my journey into the issue of health began with my career as an environmental attorney, working with hunters and fishermen and mothers in a small town in the hudson valley. i learned very early on that human health and environmental injuries are intertwined. the same chemicals that kill fish make people sick also. today, americans overall health is in grievous condition. over 70% of adults and one third of children are overweight or obese. diabetes is 10 times more prevalent than it was in the 1960's cancer among young people is rising by 1% or 2% a year. autoimmune

their legacy to include disregarding basic health science and instead elevate conspiracy theorists, making robert kennedy secretary of health and human services? in my view, colleagues would be a grave threat to the health of the american people. >> mr. kennedy and the administration committed that he and i would have an unprecedentedly close, collaborative working relationship if he is confirmed. >> kennedy won key support from senator cassidy, who was a doctor, after kennedy assured cassidy that he will not undermine child vaccination programs. tulsi gabbard's nomination to be the director of national intelligence also cleared a key senate committee in a closed door, 9 to 8 vote. this, despite concerns raised about her past comments sympathetic to russia and a meeting with syria's now deposed leader. a former democratic congresswoman, gabbard is one of trump's most divisive nominees, with lawmakers on both parties here also pointing to her past support for government leaker edward snowden. her nomination now heads to the full senate for consideration, although a vote has not yet been scheduled. president trump praised elon musk today, sayin

committee is going to be voting on the nomination of robert f kennedy jr for secretary of health and human services, and the senate intelligence committee is going to be voting on the nomination of tulsi gabbard for the director of national intelligence. nbc news vaughn hillyard, washington. all right. thank you very much. we're going to have much more on president trump's tariff plan later in the newscast coming up at 530. our political analyst, larry gerston joins us. he's going to talk about the president's motivation for these tariffs and how much it could ultimately cost you every year. now, back to the issue of immigration and the president's massive crackdown. nbc news has learned that some migrants arrested by ice agents have been released back into the u.s. the reason space limitations and court orders. in a statement to nbc news, an ice spokesperson says federal court cases limit ice from detaining people indefinitely if their countries refuse to take them back. that's resulted in some migrants being sent back to the u.s. on a monitoring program. since taking office, president trump and h

kennedy is the pic to feed the department of health and human services. ns that all 100 senators will soon hold final votes. they can only afford to lose support from three republicans if every democrat and every independent senator votes against them. joining us now, capitol hill correspondent ryan nobles, tracking this for us. ryan, let's begin with rfk, kennedy. despite skepticism from republicans, they voted for him. what was their reasoning and doesn't appear he will pass the senate vote? truck i will pass your -- i will answer your second question first. it appears likely that he will have the confirmation. these republican senators really worked to get to a place where they feel comfortable testing a yes vote for robert f. kennedy jr.. the senator from louisiana had real concerns about his stance on vaccines. he spent a lot of time talking to kennedy. he talked to the white house and the vice president. he got to a place where he feels as though enough guardrails are in place where vaccines will not be in danger if kennedy becomes the next health an

s nomination to be health and human services secretary. and it could be a key test for at least one republican senator. we'll talk about that. and where some of president trump's other controversial nominees stand this morning, plus, the single most important battle democrats must wage, the washington post reports. eugene robinson joins us to explain that. we're back in 90s. >> you may ask yourself. >> you may ask yourself. >> well, need a shipping solution that'll grow with you? with shipstation, you can manage and fulfill all your orders in one place. plus, you get more carrier options, at the lowest rates. keep your business growing. head to shipstation.com to start your free trial. (♪♪) some people just know they could save hundreds on car insurance by checking allstate first. duke versus unc. what a storied rivalry? like you know to check your outfit first before meeting your girlfriend's family. that's a tough one to recover from steve. the disappointment on their faces says it all. uh-uh. yeah, checking first is smart. yeah. so check

secretary of health and human services.ins us with his reaction for the first time since the news broked today. "the claman countdown" coming right back. ♪ ♪ ♪ in any business, you ride the line between numbers and people. what's right for the business and what's best for everyone who depends on it. solving today's challenges while creating future opportunities. it takes balance. cla - cpas, consultants, and wealth advisors. we'll get you there. as your host, i have some rules. first, no showers longer than 5 minutes. this isn't a spa. (laughs) that's a rule. meanwhile, at a vrbo— when other vacation rentals make you share your turf with a host, try one that's all yours. [tv announcer] premium meat for natural diet. most people don't realize how processed typical dog food is. at the farmer's dog we believe dogs should be able to get their daily nutrition without the excess processing. the digestibility is just better. we have the right amount of protein, the right amount of fat, the right amount of nutrients being added, bu

the nominee for secretary of health and human services has faced scrutiny over his vaccine skepticism believe that vaccines play a critical role in health care. all of my kids are vaccinated, i have written many books on vaccines. my first book in 2014, the first line of it is i am not anti-vaccine, and the last line is i am not anti-vaccine. scarlet: we should note that he has been cleared of the committee level and is due for a full senate vote but it is not clear his stance on vaccines, even though in the past we have known his stance, and today he says something otherwise. is rfk good or bad for a company like merck? he has this ongoing lawsuit, tied to this ongoing lawsuit against merck over injuries from products like gardasil for instance? chris: it is unclear. uncertainty is not a friend of investors. so much has been said and captured versus what actually might be possible. from a vaccine standpoint specifically, there is a lot of foundational science, and clearly from a public health and business standpoint, many aspects of this structure that clearly map it out. in terms of

>> well, since being tapped by donald trump to run the department of health and human services, kennedyving something to be desired for senators like cassidy. >> will you reassure mothers unequivocally and without qualification, that the measles and hepatitis b vaccines do not cause autism? >> senator, i am not going into the agency with any. >> kind of a yes or no question because. so if you're because the data is there and that's kind of a yes or no. and i don't mean to cut you off, but that really is a yes or no. >> if that. >> is there, i. will absolutely do that. >> now there is the data. just because i used to i used to do hepatitis b, as. >> i. >> said, i know the data is there. >> i guess sometimes it's handy to have a doctor in congress. so even as kennedy attempts to distance himself from his long history of anti-vaccination advocacy, it is not entirely working even with those in his own party. senator cassidy could prove to be a crucial swing vote for rfk jr, who can only afford to lose three republican votes in order to get confirmed. >> this is, poof, the. >> fastest growin

for health and human services secretary. republican senator bill cassidy of louisiana. senator cassidy, a medical doctor, is a member of the finance committee and chairman of the health committee. the other panel that held a hearing for rfk jr last week, and cassidy has openly struggled with kennedy's nomination, specifically when it comes to his past conspiracy theories about vaccines. meanwhile, another of trump's cabinet picks just picked up a key endorsement ahead of her committee vote later today. republican senator susan collins of maine has announced she will vote in favor of tulsi gabbard for director of national intelligence. she explained her decision to reporters yesterday. >> after extensive consideration, conversations with her in my office, attending the hearing, questioning her there and listening to her in the closed session, i decided to vote that i will vote for her. i believe she's committed to strengthening our national security, and i questioned her extensively about her views on edward snowden, and i am

be something in healthcare but were not sure where that will land we gotta see with the health and human servicesry nominee, rfk junior and others but energy and financial services are big players. jack: let's immigration 160 million people in the workforce a few deportations here or there isn't going to have a huge impact in the economy but at some point it will, agriculture, a lot of immigrants, construction, is guacamole going to cost more disapproval or how is that going to play out. >> is too late to tell, there is a lot of pressure here. and i think there is a long way to go as far as what he has done already remain in mexico policy. he is stopping input, the incoming and slowly not down. really on the outgoing, that's going to take time, we are having headlines about criminals being deported but those are small numbers relatively, when you have a massive program to deport in the question how high do the numbers get handed to get to the obama levels which is about 500,000 year. >> if they get to the level, do you see basically the cost of labor going up will be more expensive for restaurant

kennedy to be the secretary of health and human services. this is something i took very seriously, and as i said i would, i spoke with mr. kennedy not once, but multiple times over the weekend including this morning. we had in-depth conversations about the medical literature, about the science behind the safety of vaccines, i reviewed and spoke to those who he said i should speak to. the most notable of opponents of mr. kennedy were peed trigsz on the front lines of our children's health who regularly have to combat misinformation. combating vaccine skepticism with correct information. correct information that comes from their indication -- education, their training and experience as pediatricians, they are aware of the falling vaccine rates and the hospitalizations and deaths from children from vaccine-preventible diseases. children are contracting diseases that they would not have contracted if the child was vaccinated. others are looking at the need to address chemicals in our food and that we are victims of the forces maximizing profits w

rather fiery hearings you were a part of this past week, in particular with a potential health and human services secretary to be, rfk jr. you told cbs in december you think he's right about the food industry and obesity and what he says about high prices for prescription drugs. but during the hearing, you had some sharp exchanges. are you at this point decided on your vote? will you cross over and help republicans confirm him? >> margaret, i have up to now voted for some trump appointee, a few. i voted against most and i'll make my decisions next week. where kennedy is right is we are an unhealthy society. the point i have been making, many others have been making for a long time. one of the things that concerns me very much, and kennedy mentioned it, our life expectancy, how long our people live is five years less than other wealthy countries. if you're working class in this countries you live six or seven years lower than rich. it's an issue and i think the kind of addictive and food that the industry is providing our kids is one of the factors not many. when you have kennedy come forward and

s nomination to be health and human services secretary to the full senate for a vote. republicans, ignoring democrats pleas for them to vot. otherwise. >> he's unqualified. and i dare say everybody here knows it. we need a serious person at the helm of the hhs. >> mr. kennedy has given us no reason to believe it will be anything other than a rubber stamp for plans to gut medicaid and rip health care away from the american people and be a yes man if ordered by mr. trump to take an illegal action. >> nbc's ryan nobles is reporting on capitol hill. back with us, former congressman carlos curbelo. ryan, going into this, everyone was watching republican senator bill cassidy. he is a doctor, a trained doctor. what led him to ultimately support kennedy? >> well, he said that he got quite a few assurances from kennedy and from the trump administration about the exact role that robert f kennedy jr would play as the secretary of health and human services. he said that kennedy vowed to be in close contact with him at every stage of the game when he takes the job of hhs secretary,

health science and instead elevate conspiracy. they're making robert kennedy, secretary of health and human services. in my view, colleagues would be a grave threat to the health of the american people. and i urge my colleagues this morning to vote now that spring in rosalind jordan in washington, dc for me on this. so r s k ross has cleared a crucial senate power vote didn't come as a surprise 1st or it did not come as a surprise, even though there was some speculation that at least one republican senator rob bill cassidy of louisiana. who happens to be a medical doctor might have voted against his nomination because of kennedy's longstanding though skepticism about the effectiveness of vaccines and whether they caused autism. multiple health authorities say that vaccines do not cause autism yet. kennedy has a perpetuated this myth. this lie as, as it were, for many years now and has a rather all a popular uh, fan base here in the united states because of his, uh, so called vaccine skepticism. now it is a thought that cassidy, the louisiana center termite and voted to us and his nomination to the ful

kennedy jr., who is donald trump's nominee to lead the department of health and human services, as well as tulsi gabbard, his pick to be his director of national intelligence. both of them faced very sharp questioning from democrats and republicans alike on capitol hill this week. but according to my conversations with sources familiar with how the president's team is looking at this, they are most concerned. now, i'm told about gabbard confirmation chances, and that comes as she was pressed very hard again by lawmakers on both sides of the aisle about whether or not she believed that the acts of edward snowden were traitors to the united states. now, edward snowden is a former national security agency contractor who, back in 2013, had revealed the existence of a bulk collection of american phone records by the nsa before fleeing to russia. now we know that gabbard has said previously that she believed snowden should not face any sort of prosecution back in the united states, but she wasn't very clear when asked directly by lawmakers if she believed that still to be the case, or whether

their legacy to include disregarding basic health science and instead elevate conspiracy theorists, making robert kennedy secretary of health and human servicesin my view, colleagues would be a grave threat to the health of the american people. >> kennedy won the crucial support of louisiana republican senator bill cassidy, a medical doctor who says kennedy assured him that he will not undermine child vaccination programs. up next on the four this afternoon, harnessing the healing power of hip hop as we celebrate black history month, we're putting the focus on an east bay nonprofit that's helping young people of color improve their mental health. >> and a barrier weather. still some heavy rain making its push to the south this afternoon. we have some strong winds and also severe thunderstorm warnings. we'll have the for all those making it big out there... ...shouldn't your mobile service be able to keep up with you? get wifi speeds up to a gig at home and on the go. introducing powerboost, only from xfinity mobile. now that's big. xfinity internet customers, cut your mobile bill in half vs. t-mobile, verizon, and at&t for your first year. pl

that informed me when considering rfk as the nominee to be secretary of the department of health and human services. it was a decision i studied exhaustively. i took very seriously. and as i said i would, i spoke with mr. kennedy not once, but multiple times over the weekend, including this morning. we had in-depth conversations about the medical literature, about the science behind the safety of vaccines. >> now, like you mentioned, in just a short time, we expect the senate intelligence committee to hold their vote on whether or not to advance tulsi gabbard. as the director of national intelligence. right now, we have heard from all of the republicans on that committee. we do expect her to get confirmed and advance to the united states senate floor. again, i talked to todd young, a republican who had been on the fence just about 24 hours ago, who said that jd vance had a big role in helping him get to yes, as well. >> but it appears the vice president and his input. clearly, having republicans fall in line. lauren fox live for us on capitol hill. thanks so much. still ahead on cnn news central. t

kennedy's nomination to health and human services secretary will advance to the full senate. it follows contentious hearings last week that saw bipartisan pushback on kennedy's anti-vaccine rhetoric. joining us right now, white house reporter for politico, sophia kai and congressional reporter for axios stephen newcomb. good to see both of you. sophia. you first. vice president vance says he doesn't expect to be a tiebreaking vote for these cabinet picks. but if he does, it would be just the third time in history a cabinet nomination needed a vice president to cross the finish line. but first, i guess we've got to get to the full senate. so how much pressure is on the white house now to try and get their nominees through? >> i think there's a lot. i mean, i think with rfk jr.. what jd vance has said is probably true as long as rfk jr. can get through the senate finance committee on tuesday, i think, you know, a bigger question. and and the person that the white house is more concerned about is actually tulsi gabbard. i think they knew even going into the hearings that she amo

this week, president trump's pick to lead health and human services faced a contentious confirmation hearing on capitol hill. robert f kennedy jr. was grilled by senators over his past false claims about vaccine safety. and if he trusts the science behind them. here's cnn's meg tirrell. >> one of the most notable. >> things out of these two. >> days. of confirmation hearings. >> for. >> robert f. kennedy jr. was something that he didn't or wouldn't say, which was that he accepted established science, showing no link between vaccines and autism. this was something that multiple senators pressed. robert f. kennedy jr. on, most notably, senator bill cassidy, who is a physician and is the chair of the senate health committee, which hosted the second day's confirmation hearing. here's an example of one exchange between those two on this topic. >> if you. >> are approved. >> to this decision, to this position, will you say unequivocally, will you will you reassure mothers unequivocally and without qualification, that the measles and hepatitis b vaccines do not cause autism? >> senator. >> i

today, the senateomttee voted in favor of rfk jr to be the health and human services secretary. the vote was 14 to 13 along party lines. republican senator bill cassidy of louisiana initially said he had major concerns about kennedy and his accent anti-vaccine stance, but in the end, he approved kennedy's nomination after kennedy promised he would maintain the cdc's advisory committee on immunization practices. kennedy's nomination now goes to the full senate. ahead, trying to ensure college students are equipped to handle the ever changing world of ai. a new initiative designed to help csu students in san francisco officially has a new fire chief. what his goals are for the department moving forward and tracking that rain on storm, ranger will have the updated timeline for tonight and additional chances this hundreds of thousands of university students and educators will be getting daily access to ai. bridge fire tech reporter scott budman explains, the goal is to use those tools to train the next generation of tech creators. very cool. scott. yeah. jessica. as ai and chatgpt ca