Sen. Bill Cassidy grapples with GOP loyalty and medical views in hearing with RFK Jr.

Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana has emerged as a central figure in the confirmation of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Donald Trump's nominee for health and human services secretary. The hearings this week pose a consequential moment for the second-term Republican facing reelection in 2026. A physician-turned-politician, Cassidy has questions about Kennedy’s unfounded claims linking common vaccines to autism. Cassidy, a gastroenterologist, sought repeatedly to convince the nominee to renounce those views during a committee hearing Thursday. Already at odds with a segment of his party for voting to convict Trump during his 2021 impeachment, Cassidy struggled during questioning to reconcile his views as a doctor with his desire to be an ally for Trump.