Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
RFK Jr. Open To Restrictions on Medication Abortion, Senator Says
The Hill: Hawley: Kennedy Supports Restrictions On Abortion Pill Mifepristone
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) said Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President-elect Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, pledged to support efforts to reimpose restrictions on the abortion pill mifepristone if Trump wants to. Hawley told reporters Wednesday he suggested to Kennedy during a Tuesday meeting that “it would be a wise idea to return to the rule under the last Trump administration, which required in-person dispensing” of the drug. (Weixel, 12/18)
The Washington Post: RFK Jr. Tries To Build Momentum For HHS Candidacy On Capitol Hill
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. arrived on Capitol Hill this week with a clear goal: build support for his controversial selection to lead the nation’s health agencies. So far, so good. Kennedy has met with more than a dozen GOP senators, with many lawmakers praising those conversations and signaling that they plan to vote to confirm him as secretary of health and human services next year. (Diamond, Roubein and Liss-Roy, 12/18)
The Boston Globe: RFK Jr. Is Telling Republican Senators What They Want To Hear
The moment he arrived on Capitol Hill this week as President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was confronted with perhaps the top task of his confirmation: papering over his decades-long record of controversy. ... The fact that Kennedy needed to declare his support for the polio vaccine, one of the great medical advances of the 20th century, stems from a New York Times report that one of his top advisers had petitioned the Food and Drug Administration to revoke approval for the life-saving injection. (Brodey and Puzzanghera, 12/19)
AP: What Americans Think Of RFK Jr. And His Health Stances
The kids seen by Dolores Mejia around suburban Phoenix have been growing heavier in recent years. Their parents, too, she says. Mejia, a 75-year-old retiree, says she’s also had her own weight struggles on the scale. That’s why Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s pledge to “Make America Healthy Again” as he campaigned alongside Donald Trump caught her attention. She liked the questions Kennedy raised about the role of processed foods in America’s obesity epidemic. After hearing Kennedy out, she concluded: “We cannot trust the health organizations we’ve trusted for years to tell us that our foods are safe.” (Seitz and Sanders, 12/18)
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NPR: After Losing VP Bid, Walz Searches For Role In Pushing Back Against Trump
With Republican pickups both nationally and in his home state, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is searching for the right balance when preparing to push back against GOP priorities, while also showing that he's willing to work with them on issues important to middle class voters. After Democrats lost the presidential election, Walz is now back home working out of the state capitol in St. Paul, Minn., where he recently described the one question that keeps him up at night - why more voters chose President-elect Donald Trump. (Masters, 12/19)
