RFK Jr.’s day on Capitol Hill exposes GOP fault lines: From the Politics Desk

Welcome to the online version of From the Politics Desk, a newsletter that brings you the NBC News Politics team’s latest reporting and analysis from the White House, Capitol Hill and the campaign trail.

In today’s edition, we recap Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s tense hearing on Capitol Hill. Plus, Jonathan Allen has the scoop on the department’s plans to poll the public on vaccines.

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— Adam Wollner

GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy pits RFK Jr. against Trump on vaccines

By Sahil Kapur, Brennan Leach and Gabrielle Khoriaty

Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., grilled Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on his skepticism of vaccines, arguing that his actions fly in the face of one of President Donald Trump’s biggest achievements.

Cassidy opened his questioning at a Senate hearing today by asking Kennedy if he agrees Trump should get a Nobel Prize for the development of the Covid vaccine during his first term via a program known as Operation Warp Speed.

Kennedy replied quickly: “Absolutely, senator.”

Cassidy was skeptical.

“But you just told Sen. [Michael] Bennet that the Covid vaccine killed more people than Covid. That was a statement,” Cassidy said, adding that “it surprises me that you think so highly of Operation Warp Speed when, as an attorney, you attempted to restrict access” to the Covid vaccine.

Kennedy denied that he said the vaccine killed more people than Covid, and offered to explain why he conducted legal work in opposition to the vaccine. But Cassidy was unimpressed, saying he had limited time and persisting with further questions.

Cassidy cited testimonials from a conservative commentator that Health and Human Services actions are making it harder for some Americans to get the Covid vaccine, and from physicians worried that the lack of guidance from HHS about the vaccine could create liability problems.

“I would say, effectively, we’re denying people vaccine,” Cassidy told Kennedy during his questioning.

The exchange came as Cassidy walks a political tightrope. He’s a doctor and a proponent of vaccines. But he’s also running for re-election in the deep-red state of Louisiana, where he faces a challenge from the MAGA wing of the party. Trump has not made an endorsement in the race.

Cassidy’s strategy was to voice his skepticism of Kennedy through the language of Trump’s movement: by presenting them as a way to show support for the president and to protect his legacy.

Read more from today’s hearing →

Related: Ousted CDC chief warns that RFK Jr. is politicizing public health, by Aria Bendix and Garrett Haake

HHS set to award no-bid polling contract to Mark Penn’s firm

By Jonathan Allen

The Department of Health and Human Services is on the verge of giving a no-bid contract for polling Americans’ views of vaccines to a firm controlled by Mark Penn, the onetime adviser to President Bill Clinton who has become an increasingly vocal supporter of President Donald Trump’s policies, that has little background conducting public opinion research for the government.

In an “intent to sole source” notice posted on the federal contracting website, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an agency within HHS, wrote that it intends to award the contract for “a project to understand Americans’ perspectives around vaccines and drivers of trust in making vaccine decisions” to Harris Telecom LLC.

That is the former name of a public opinion research company, now called HarrisX, that is owned by Stagwell, where Penn is chief executive officer. In recent weeks, Penn’s X feed has been full of commentary echoing Trump’s views on antisemitism at Harvard, the use of federal forces to control domestic crime, alleged overreach by judges who rule against Trump, and trying to oust Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

While the deal sits waiting to be finalized, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. got an earful from pro-vaccine senators in both parties during a contentious hearing on Capitol Hill. Kennedy, a longtime anti-vaccine activist, argued to the lawmakers that he is not against all immunization.

“I say I’m not anti-vaccine,” Kennedy said during questioning. “Saying I’m anti-vaccine is like saying I’m anti-medicine. I’m pro-medicine. But I understand some medicines harm people. And the same is true with vaccines.”

Trump finds himself in an awkward position on the issue. One of the biggest achievements of his first term was the success of his Operation Warp Speed program in delivering Covid vaccines. But many voters in his MAGA movement turned against the immunizations and abhor vaccine mandates. Now, he figures to receive taxpayer-funded polling on how Americans think about vaccines.

While it’s not unusual for federal agencies to hire polling firms, a review of decades of similar awards suggests the decision to give the contract to an administration ally without competition — under a rule that allows no-bid deals if there is “only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements” — is out of the ordinary.

One former HHS official who is familiar with the contracting system said it was “unheard of for a company with zero experience with government contracts to get one.”

Harris Telecom previously had one contract with the Commerce Department — well under $1 million — for public opinion research, according to an NBC News search of contracting databases.

Penn did not respond to a request to discuss the deal. White House and HHS officials acknowledged receiving NBC News’ inquiries about it but did not respond in time for inclusion in this newsletter.

Laura Strickler contributed.

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