HOT TOPICS | RFK Jr. Faces the Senate in his Confirmation Hearing - January 29th, 2025
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What is happening as RFK Jr. arrives for his Senate confirmation hearing?
Good morning, everyone. Welcome to the Don Lemon Show. This is our Hot Topics segment. And we're so glad that you're here this morning. And there you see you're looking at from now the Senate. They are about to hold the first confirmation hearing for RFK Jr. And you see the folks getting ready there. He arrived this morning to this hearing with applause from the floor. And so we're going to be going through it live here on Hot Topics. It is our Hot Topic of the day. A couple of different feeds for you here. We came on just a little bit early, so bear with us because he got there right on time or a little bit early. But there they are taking photographs of the hearing of the nomination of RFK Jr. of California to be the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
The United States Senate Committee hearing, and that's the channel right there. Committee on Finance is where he is. That's a different committee. That's the one that he's on now. Okay, so we're going to be paying attention to the hearing. The question is, is he going to be approved or not? As we continue, I think we need to look at the photographs of him there if we can. Just continue to look at, yeah. Is he going to be approved or not? There's been some controversy around him, obviously, surrounding vaccinations, apparent anti-vax stance. Even his own niece yesterday, just yesterday, releasing a letter or writing a letter and then reading it in front of a camera and posting it on social media, saying that he was not qualified.
Basically, Caroline Kennedy, who is a daughter of John Kennedy... John F. Kennedy, saying that he's a predator. Those are her words, not mine. And so today, the son of Robert Kennedy, the great Robert Kennedy, is facing off in the Senate. He's on the hot seat. And we'll see what happens. I think this is going to be a pretty contentious one. And that's why we're bringing it to you. And that's why this is our hot topic. So thank you for joining us this morning. on the Hot Topic show, 10 a.m. Eastern. We're here every single day, and we appreciate that you are with us on these days. Okay? So thank you so much. There he is. He sat down now, seated. They're going to have their opening remarks. The person who's chairing this, you see there on the bottom left of your screen, starting, but for some reason...
We're not hearing, there we go.
Let's listen in a little bit and see what happens.
Mr. Kennedy, congratulations on your nomination. Throughout this process, Mr. Kennedy, you have been accessible to members and staff on both sides of the aisle and have demonstrated strong commitment to fulfilling the responsibilities of this role. The Department of Health and Human Services oversees our nation's largest healthcare programs, providing coverage for nearly two in every five Americans. Improving Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP, among other initiatives, presents challenges, especially in the face of a rapidly aging population, stubbornly high costs, and persistent barriers to access. However, this also provides us an opportunity to deliver bold transformative solutions. As a committee, we share a commitment to advancing common sense, bipartisan policies that improve the delivery of healthcare in this country.
This committee has worked to realign incentives in the prescription drug supply chain, to enhance access in rural communities, to expand the availability of telehealth and improve the broken clinician payment structure. Across these and other issues, I look forward to working with the administration to continue pursuing meaningful reforms that serve the American people. So these are just the opening remarks that we'll get to. My question is to you guys who are joining us, make sure you hit the thumbs up, make sure you hit the likes, all of the things, as we say. And follow us on our social. More people become aware of our conversations and more people become aware of our channel if you do that. And so this is sort of rote, pro forma, procedural things.
It's not really, you know, getting down to the nitty gritty, so to speak, here.
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Chapters
7 chapters
1
What is happening as RFK Jr. arrives for his Senate confirmation hearing?
0:11–6:58
2
Why are senators and commentators focused on RFK Jr.'s vaccine record and Samoa controversy?
6:58–1:33:30
3
How does Robert F. Kennedy Jr. defend his qualifications and outline his health agenda?
1:33:30–1:51:38
4
Will RFK Jr. commit to transparency and subpoenas for redacted HHS records?
1:51:38–1:53:43
5
Will Kennedy refuse post‑HHS pay from drug companies or lawsuit fees?
1:53:43–2:02:19
6
How did senators challenge Kennedy on vaccines, measles in Samoa and his influence?
2:02:19–2:14:33
7
What are Kennedy’s priorities for Medicaid, chronic disease and CDC reform?
2:14:33–3:35:40
Speakers
7 identifiedMore from The Don Lemon Show
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