Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has his first public appearance before the Senate today to discuss his nomination as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.
Kennedy will appear before the Senate Finance Committee to take questions from lawmakers. He’s also slated for a hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on Thursday.
The nominee has met with senators on Capitol Hill in recent weeks to make his case. Lawmakers have sought clarity on some of Kennedy’s controversial positions and remarks on vaccines, abortion, food and agriculture.
Why it matters: As HHS secretary, Kennedy would have oversight over multiple agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration, which regulates 80% of the food supply. Kennedy and others in the Make America Healthy Again movement have been critical of pesticides, processed foods, pork production and seed oils, sparking concern from food and farm groups.
Still, Senate Republicans previously told Agri-Pulse they believe Kennedy has won over enough members to be confirmed.
Sen. Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., who sits on the Senate Finance and Agriculture committees, said he expects Kennedy to face questions on his stances on hunger and nutrition programs like SNAP. Kennedy and others in the MAHA movement have supported efforts to restrict SNAP purchases for sodas and other sweetened beverages.
Lutnick to emphasize personal story, need for strong U.S. businesses in hearing
Trump’s pick to lead the Commerce Department, Howard Lutnick, will also appear before senators today at a confirmation hearing in the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee.
According to a copy of his opening statement seen by Agri-Pulse, the Cantor Fitzgerald CEO will describe the challenge of losing both parents before his 19th birthday. He will also cover his “greatest business achievement”: rebuilding the company after 658 employees were killed on 9/11, including his brother.
“We need healthy businesses — small, medium and large — to hire our great American workers to drive our economy,” Lutnick will say.
Remember: Trump said Lutnick would lead his trade agenda when he announced his pick for commerce secretary back in November. Accordingly, expect tariffs to feature prominently in the back-and-forth with senators. Lutnick has previously called tariffs a “bargaining chip” to negotiate “more fair” trade arrangements.
Foreign aid suspension leaves food aid in doubt
A federal judge on Tuesday blocked the Trump administration from suspending federal assistance programs, but another directive also has sparked confusion among farm groups — the suspension of foreign aid for 90 days.
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It was still unclear Tuesday afternoon whether that suspension applied to food aid. But Reuters reported Tuesday night that Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a waiver for humanitarian assistance.
Trump’s first proposed budget in 2017 determined to kill both the Food for Peace and McGovern-Dole food aid programs and would have shifted the money to the U.S. Agency for International Development’s International Disaster Assistance account. Congress rejected the proposals.
Keep in mind: The first Trump administration aimed to kill the Food for Peace and McGovern-Dole programs, but the proposals went nowhere in Congress.
For more on the Trump administration’s directives, including its review of domestic programs, read this week’s newsletter.
Grassley, Durbin want more info from Trump on IG firings
Leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee are pressing the Trump administration to provide specific reasons for firing inspectors general in 18 federal agencies, including the USDA.
Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Dick Durbin, D-Ill., told Trump in a letter that the president is required to give Congress a rationale for removing or transferring an IG 30 days before it occurs. The pair also want the IGs to receive 30-day notices.
“While IGs aren’t immune from committing acts requiring their removal, and they can be removed by the president, the law must be followed,” the senators wrote. “This is a matter of public and congressional accountability and ensuring the public’s confidence in the Inspector General community."
Grassley and Durbin also asked Trump to provide the names of officials who will serve as acting inspectors general and that he “quickly nominate qualified and non-partisan individuals."
Administration seeks pause in small refinery SCOTUS case
The Trump administration has asked the Supreme Court to pause a small refinery hardship lawsuit so it can reassess the “soundness” of the underlying denial actions.
In October SCOTUS said it would review a decision by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals related to small refinery exemptions under the Renewable Fuel Standard. The case involves the agency’s denial of 105 exemption applications and whether the D.C. Circuit should be the only venue for judicial review.
In a brief, the administration wrote that reassessing the denials could “obviate” the need for SCOTUS to determine the correct venue for these cases. Until that assessment is completed, the administration asked the court to suspend the briefing schedule.
Final Word
"As far as the egg shortage, what's also contributing to that is that the Biden administration and the Department of Agriculture directed the mass killing of more than 100 million chickens, which has led to a lack of .... egg supply, which is leading to the shortage." — Karoline Leavitt, White House spokesperson, referring to chickens that were depopulated because of highly pathogenic avian influenza infections.
Speaking at a White House press conference Tuesday, she went on to say, “This is an example of why it's so incredibly important that the Senate moves swiftly to confirm all of President Trump's nominees, including his nominee for the United States Department of Agriculture, Brooke Rollins, who is already speaking with Kevin Hassett, who's leading the economic team here at the White House, on how we can address the egg shortage in this country."
