All posts tagged "Bill Cassidy"

President Donald Trump's pick to lead the Food and Drug Administration is already facing a GOP revolt over her recent history.

According to a Wednesday article by The New York Times, Heidi Overton's support for Trump's order concerning vaccines and the production of the weedkiller glyphosate has drawn early backlash. Trump tapped Overton, a White House domestic policy official, on Wednesday as the replacement for Marty Makary, who resigned in May.

"The White House looks forward to her swift confirmation by the Senate," White House spokesman Kush Desai told The Times, adding that Overton has "spent the last year and a half coordinating an interagency policymaking process with senior officials" to deliver on the Trump administration's Make America Healthy Again agenda....

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) had to answer for comments made by Attorney General Todd Blanche a week after the GOP senator confirmed him.

Cassidy cast the decisive vote to confirm Blanche as Trump's Attorney General and gave a speech where he assured his constituents he was making the right choice despite mixed feelings about confirming Trump's former personal lawyer. But a week later, Cassidy was confronted during an appearance on CNN with a clip of Blanche endorsing Bruce Blakeman, the Republican nominee for governor of New York.

Blanche said that Blakeman was "doing everything we need him to do to back the blue."...

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) relied on fantasy excuses to justify confirming Todd Blanche as President Donald Trump's attorney general, CNN's Jake Tapper said on Friday — and it's not the first time either.

Cassidy ultimately casting aside his public doubts was a "real puzzler," Tapper said, citing two reasons for that.

First, there is Cassidy's constant concerns about the "weaponization of the Justice Department." Cassidy addressed this in his speech announcing his vote, said Tapper, but the answer he gave is bizarre. Specifically, he argued that Blanche has made a convincing case he would not be a "yes man" for Trump and "would be precisely the person to push back" on him....

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) snapped during an interview with veteran journalist Katie Couric when talking about a Trump nominee.

During an episode of Couric's podcast, she dug into what should be the standards for accepting a Trump nominee for a top health official job. Cassidy, a physician, cast the deciding vote to confirm Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Health and Human Services secretary, but he grew visibly irritated when Couric pressed him on Dr. Erica Schwarz, the Trump administration's pick to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Couric pointed out that Cassidy is the chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, which means, "You play a central role in vetting nominees who will work directly under Secretary Kennedy, including the nominee for CDC director Dr. Erica Schwarz," Couric told Cassidy. The interview had mostly focused on Kennedy and his questionable health advice and position on vaccines before turning to Schwarz....

Trump critic Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) on Wednesday pressed the president's nominee to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, asking if she would stand up to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Politico reported.

Erica Schwartz, if nominated, would work under Kennedy, who previously fired Susan Monarez for pushing back on the Trump cabinet member's vaccine agenda, according to Politico. Schwartz apparently struggled to convince the senators that she would push back against Kennedy during the Senate committee for her confirmation.

"I feel like I’m having to go after this question a little bit more firmly than I feel like I should," Cassidy told Schwartz. "You can be CDC director and just take orders. We need a CDC director who will actually stand up to crazy, stupid things being said that undermine faith in immunization."...

A former GOP operative described how he is looking forward to the revenge of an enemy President Donald Trump made in the Senate.

During an episode of The Lincoln Project Podcast, Rick Wilson spoke about the feuds Trump started with senators, but in particular, he relished the revenge plot that Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) is suggesting.

"If you follow his Twitter feed lately, you know he is planning a beautiful set of 'F— yous' for Trump," Wilson said, sharing screenshots of posts by Cornyn....