Quarterback Aaron Rodgers has a word for the Senate right before the confirmation of his friend, Health and Human Services candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
“You better be ready, senators; come prepared to see if you can outsmart my buddy, Bobby, because Bobby’s incredibly sharp, man,” Rodgers stated during The Pat McAfee Show.
RFK Jr. was reportedly mulling over the idea of having Rodgers as his running mate during his unsuccessful presidential bid. Both share the same viewpoint against vaccinations, which has garnered scrutiny for Kennedy leading up to his nomination for the top health position.
Rodgers expressed his eagerness to observe RFK Jr.’s hearings “to see who attempts to mess with him.”
RFK Jr. has laid out his initiative to “Make America Healthy Again,” including probing into the potential connection between vaccines and autism, prohibiting harmful food additives, and eliminating fluoride from water supplies.
Rodgers, who has just wrapped up a season with the New York Jets, criticized the “repugnant” chemical additives that Kennedy has vowed to eliminate.
“So it’s going to [be] as he’s doing a service to everybody if you just step aside and quit trying to label him in whatever demeaning way they choose these days,” he added.
“He genuinely wants to ensure that what’s being provided to our children is safe, everything we consume daily is dependable, and he’s committed to ‘Making America Healthy Again’ or will surely exhaust himself trying.”
Rodgers’ intervention advocating for his fellow anti-vaxxer may not alleviate concerns within the Trump transition team, suggesting that his confirmation hasn’t been a slam dunk thus far. Among Republican senators, there have been notes of hesitation from some, including Bill Cassidy, the senator from Louisiana who presides over the Senate’s Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee responsible for voting on Kennedy’s confirmation.
Additionally, he has encountered resistance from a faction led by former Vice President Mike Pence, with that group urging Republicans to dismiss Kennedy due to his pro-choice beliefs.
Republicans have yet to announce a date for Kennedy’s initial confirmation hearing, and so far, not a single Democrat has indicated any willingness to back him publicly.
Adding to the complications was the recent revelation that Kennedy had failed to disclose significant sums of money received from his Children’s Health Defense non-profit. He had to discreetly amend official records to clarify that he actually gained $1.2 million from it over the two years of 2022 and 2023, as opposed to the $731,470.53 he had earlier reported.
Kennedy’s complex private life may also become a subject of scrutiny during his hearings. He effectively acknowledged in July that he had inappropriately touched a 23-year-old babysitter when he was 45 by sending her a message apologizing “for anything I ever did that made you feel uncomfortable,” while his “digital” romance with the New York Magazine journalist Olivia Nuzzi during his failed presidential campaign resulted in the termination of her employment at the magazine.
