Political analyst Mark Halperin said Monday that he was confused by Democrats’ opposition to President Donald Trump and Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) agenda.
The Senate Finance Committee advanced Kennedy’s nomination to the Senate floor on Feb. 4 in a 14-13 vote, with every Democrat opposing him. When “The Pulse” host David Harris Jr. asked Halperin why Democrats are resisting MAHA, he called it “confusing,” suggesting their opposition may be driven by animus toward Trump and Kennedy.
“You would think that anyone, and particularly the party that is interested in using government to produce better health outcomes, you’d think they’d be on board for this. I don’t know if they’re angry as Bobby Kennedy left the Democratic Party, if they don’t like something just because it’s associated with Donald Trump,” Halperin said. “But you hear very few Democrats, even grudgingly, embrace the notion of using this administration to … allow our kids to be healthier and to make our food healthier. It’s another example of Democrats really not feeling comfortable being for anything just because Donald Trump is for it.”
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Left-wing senators, including Democratic Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, took adversarial approaches during their questioning of Kennedy at his January confirmation hearing.
Trump announced on Nov. 14 that he would nominate Kennedy to lead HHS.
“The Safety and Health of all Americans is the most important role of any Administration, and HHS will play a big role in helping ensure that everybody will be protected from harmful chemicals, pollutants, pesticides, pharmaceutical products, and food additives that have contributed to the overwhelming Health Crisis in this Country” he wrote in the announcement.
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Kennedy has said he plans to prioritize mitigating the rising chronic disease rate that affects roughly three in five Americans, improve the public’s intake of nutritious foods and address the rising trend of adult obesity. However, the HHS secretary nominee has faced backlash from both sides of the aisle for his previous statements casting doubt on the efficacy of certain vaccines.
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First published by the Daily Caller News Foundation.