Cassidy is expected to challenge RFK Jr. on his vaccine skepticism and views on public health in today's confirmation hearing.

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.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. goes before two two U.S. Senate hearings in his quest to head the nation's health department. Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy, a doctor, sits on both.

The GOP senator and former physician expressed misgivings about whether Trump’s controversial HHS pick could be trusted with the public’s health.

Sanders, the senior minority party member on the committee, pressed Kennedy to concede that health care was a human right, as his father, Robert F. Kennedy, and his uncles, John F. Kennedy and Edward Kennedy, had done. Kennedy again did not give a definitive answer.

Click in for more news from The Hill{beacon} Health Care Health Care   The Big Story All eyes on Cassidy for second RFK Jr. hearing Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), chair of the Senate

Sen. Bill Cassidy, the top Republican on the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, concluded Thursday's hearing by saying he was "struggling" with the nomination due to Kennedy's vaccine positions. Kennedy notably refused to say vaccines don't cause autism as he faced pointed question from lawmakers.

While Democrats blasted Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for previous comments on vaccines and some Republicans teed him up for stump speeches, Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana mostly stuck

The hearings were packed to capacity with protesters and fans, while the spillover crowd hung out in hallways and overflow rooms.

If approved, Kennedy will control a $1.7 trillion agency that oversees food and hospital inspections, hundreds of health clinics, vaccine recommendations and health insurance for roughly half the country.

Senator Bill Cassidy, a physician and key G.O.P. vote, joined Democrats in aggressively questioning Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Trump’s pick for health secretary. He did not say how he would vote.

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry has urged the U.S. Senate — including specifically Sen. Bill Cassidy, a fellow Republican from Louisiana — to support Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Donald Trump's nominee to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.