Analysis: RFK Jr. to face an accounting over his shock treatment on US public health | CNN Politics

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

65% : The panel of independent experts has huge power to reshape American health care, since its recommendations influence what vaccinations insurance companies and programs like Medicaid will cover.
57% : " But in a Wall Street Journal op-ed, RFK Jr. claimed to be restoring public confidence in the CDC.
56% : Vaccines Donald Trump Respiratory viruses Federal agencies See all topics Follow Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. promised during his confirmation hearing that he's not anti-vaccine.
56% : His split from the Democrats and his independent political run for president made him a natural ally for Trump, whom he endorsed in 2024.
55% : But in the short term, their high-profile warnings can be a political plus for Trump.
55% : On Truth Social, Trump simultaneously lauded the vaccines and raised doubts about their credibility.
54% : Pfizer responded to Trump with a list of 200 news releases and statements and 27 peer-reviewed data publications proving the point -- and fellow vaccine makers Moderna and Novavax shared their own thorough lists of data on safety and effectiveness.
53% : Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testifies during his confirmation hearing in Washington, DC, on January 30. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images RFK faces fateful decision on American health care Aside from Thursday's hearing, Kennedy's impact on the nation's health will grow imminently.
48% : And most Americans will never see the effect of eradicating the US Agency for International Development on HIV/AIDS rates in Africa.
44% : And some voters balked at what they viewed as the imperious tone of some officials, fueling an existing skepticism among Trump supporters about experts and people they see as liberal elites.
40% : He's therefore politically useful to Trump because he taps into anti-elite anger and the lasting effects of the pandemic on politics.
39% : " This justification of changes on political rather than evidential grounds is characteristic of the populist conservatism epitomized by Trump.
30% : But in comments that will set alarm bells ringing, he said Americans elected Trump -- who has no medical qualifications and who promoted debunked Covid-19 remedies -- to set health policy.
29% : This bloc could be critical in close races in next year's midterm elections if Republican turnout is depressed without Trump on the ballot.
28% : " One of their number, Dr. Tom Frieden, said on CNN's "Inside Politics" Sunday that Kennedy and Trump were on a mission to deny, distract and destroy, on vaccines and by dismantling other health protections.
22% : Cassidy, who faces a GOP primary in his 2026 reelection bid, could be torn between a desire not to anger Trump and a medical professional's reverence for science.
12% : Democrats will try to begin a process of making Kennedy politically radioactive to punish Trump for picking him.
9% : This is in addition to billions of dollars in halted research and development as part of Trump's assault on elite universities, which has hampered research on diseases like cancer and Alzheimer's Trump wants credit for the Covid-19 vaccines he slanders Trump exemplifies the fault line between conservative politics and medical research.

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