FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., is launching a new caucus in the Senate on Thursday, named the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) caucus, to support the joint mission of President-elect Donald Trump and his choice to lead the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Marshall, a medical doctor who has practiced for more than 25 years, will lead the caucus as it works to promote healthy food, address widespread chronic diseases, encourage safer agricultural practices and work on expanding healthcare access.
"The MAHA caucus is committed to improving health outcomes by prioritizing nutrition, providing access to affordable, nutrient-dense foods, and focusing on primary care availability to tackle the root causes of chronic diseases," the Kansas Republican said in a statement. "With our 'Food is Medicine' approach, support from RFK Jr., and a shared goal to Make America Healthy Again, we aim to foster transparency, innovation, and a transformative agenda that builds a healthier, stronger nation."
Marshall is being joined in the new caucus by founding members Sens. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., and Rick Scott, R-Fla.
According to the senator's office, the MAHA caucus' purpose will be to work alongside Kennedy, assuming that he is confirmed in the new Congress, and use legislation to ensure that Trump and Kennedy's plan can be swiftly executed.
The caucus will foster partnerships with stakeholders at the local, state and federal level in order to facilitate key MAHA initiatives, while also mobilizing support for its priorities and creating educational campaigns to spread nutritional awareness.
After Kennedy suspended his independent presidential campaign earlier this year and subsequently endorsed Trump, the two announced that together they would work to "make America healthy again." Following his election last month, Trump revealed his choice to nominate Kennedy to lead HHS and pursue that goal.
The caucus' creation comes as Kennedy continues to make the rounds on Capitol Hill, meeting with senators to shore up his confirmation support. Marshall, Tuberville and Scott were among those who met with him this week.
While many Republicans in the Senate have expressed support for Trump's nominees across the board, including Kennedy, there are questions among some about his stance on vaccines, agriculture and abortion.
Despite this, he has managed to address the concerns of some of the GOP lawmakers he has already met with. For example, Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., said Kennedy promised to restore certain pro-life policies at HHS.
Tuberville told reporters prior to his meeting that he planned to discuss food production and agricultural policy with Kennedy. Following their discussion, he said Kennedy was aligned with Trump on protecting farmers and not over-regulating their livelihoods.
Kennedy is expected to conduct more meetings with senators on both sides of the aisle and will still need to address concerns, specifically those about his past comments on vaccine efficacy and how they will factor into his leadership at HHS.
The former independent presidential candidate has long been a prominent vaccine skeptic. But, the HHS nominee said he wouldn't do anything to take vaccines away from people.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been on Capitol Hill this week in an attempt to drum up support for his nomination to be the next leader of the Department of Health and Human Services.
According to one senator he spoke to, Kennedy is aligning himself with President-elect Donald Trump's stance on abortion and has signaled that he will exercise restraint when it comes to regulating the agricultural industry.
Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R–Ala., said following his meeting with Kennedy that his view on abortion is "whatever Trump decides" and that Kennedy will "back him 100%." Trump has repeatedly said he wants to let the states decide the matter for themselves and is against a national abortion ban. He has also expressed support for certain limited exceptions to abortion restrictions, such as when the life of the mother is in jeopardy.
Tuberville also said he spoke to Kennedy about not going "overboard" when it comes to regulating farmers. The senator told reporters that Kennedy is "very on board" with protecting their livelihoods and "understands our farmers are in trouble, and we want to make sure that we have farmers that can make a living."
Kennedy's nomination has drawn skepticism from both pro-life groups and those in the agriculture sector. Pro-life groups have expressed concern over Kennedy's past statements that extol a liberal position on reproductive rights, while people in the agricultural sector have expressed concern over Kennedy's crusade against processed foods and pesticides. The fears from those in the agriculture sector were bolstered after Trump said he wants to let Kennedy "go wild on health and dramatically shake things up."
However, according to Tuberville, Kennedy understands the need to strike a balance when it comes to regulating the food industry, and he confirmed his views on abortion have evolved to be in line with Trump's.
"We talked about abortion and the big thing about abortion is he's telling everybody, 'Listen whatever president Trump [supports] I'm going back him 100%,'" Tuberville told reporters following his meeting with Kennedy.
Tuberville highlighted how Trump has expressed support for three main exceptions to abortion restrictions, which include instances when the life of the mother is in jeopardy, or when either rape or incest was the cause of a woman's pregnancy.
"I just asked him, ‘In the past you’ve been pro-abortion,’ and he said, well, it’s basically, he and President Trump have sat down and talked about it, and both of them came to an agreement, ‘Hey, Roe-Wade is gone, it’s gone to the states, let the people vote on it,’" Tuberville said.
Tuberville added that he also agrees with Trump's stance on abortion, telling reporters that while he is pro-life, he is also "glad the American citizens have a chance to vote in their state," adding that Kennedy feels the same.
While recounting his conversation with Kennedy to reporters, Tuberville also shared that the two discussed how Kennedy would approach the agriculture industry, considering his fervent belief that the American food system is deeply flawed. Republicans who hail from states where agriculture is a major industry have expressed concern about Kennedy restricting modern farming techniques. Meanwhile, a Michigan soybean and corn farmer called Kennedy's nomination a "danger" to the agriculture industry.
Tuberville echoed the concerns of his fellow GOP lawmakers following his meeting with Kennedy, telling reporters that while his constituents are "very concerned" about food safety, they do not want regulations to be so stringent that it puts farmers out of a job.
"I can understand that," Tuberville said of his constituents' concerns, "and he's very on board. He understands our farmers are in trouble, and we want to make sure that we have farmers that can make a living, and we don't lose our our family farms."
Fox News Digital reached out to spokespeople for the potential future HHS secretary but did not receive a response by press time.
An attorney advising Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is slamming a New York Times report last week that claimed the Trump HHS secretary nominee sought to revoke the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) approval for the polio vaccine.
"Contrary to hysterical media reports that the petition sought to make sure no polio vaccines would be available, the scope of the petition was quite narrow," Aaron Siri, a close RFK Jr. adviser and partner at Siri & Glimstad LLP, told Fox News Digital. "It simply asked the FDA to require a proper trial for licensure for children of a novel polio vaccine."
The New York Times reported Friday that Siri is "waging a war" against all vaccines, but Siri said the report "falsely claimed the petition sought to eliminate" the polio vaccine, "as if there is only one, and that our client sought to leave Americans without the choice to get vaccinated for polio."
"In reality, the petition sought to ensure the safety of one of the six existing licensed polio vaccines that we inject into our children three times before their first birthday," he said.
The report came just days before RFK Jr. headed to Capitol Hill this week to meet with Senators, seeking support for his HHS confirmation.
The petition, filed in 2022 on behalf of the Informed Consent Action Network (ICAN) and not as an individual action by Siri, urged the FDA to suspend the polio vaccine IPOL for infants and children. ICAN's request stems from concerns that IPOL, licensed in 1990 by Sanofi, was approved based on pediatric trials that, according to the FDA, evaluated safety for only three days after injection.
This is not the traditional polio vaccine developed by Jonas Salk or Albert Sabin that many people are familiar with, Siri added. Instead, it is a product utilizing a different technology, where the polio virus is grown on monkey kidney cells that have been genetically altered to replicate indefinitely, similar to cancer cells. Traces of these cells are present in each vaccine dose.
Another petition filed on behalf of ICAN in 2021 addresses 13 childhood vaccines containing aluminum adjuvants. According to the petition, a peer-reviewed study found discrepancies between the aluminum levels in these vaccines and the amounts listed on their FDA-approved labels. The petition calls on the FDA to verify and publicly release documentation proving the accuracy of the aluminum content or halt distribution until resolved — an issue critics say should not be controversial for products injected into infants.
"Currently, political labeling (pro-vaccine, anti-vaccine) is inadequate to encompass the realities of medical ethics, regulatory capture, and the influence of corporate money on health policy," Siri said. "We must be able to raise valid questions about vaccine safety, efficacy and policy without fear that any deviation from the mantra 'safe and effective' will be smeared with epithets and outrage."
In the days since media outlets have reported about Siri's petition, both Trump and RFK Jr. have said they support the polio vaccine, without specifying which one. RFK Jr. has expressed his skepticism of some vaccines, while supporting the use of others, in interviews during his 2024 presidential campaign run as part of his "Make America Healthy Again" (MAHA) slogan.
"Mr. Kennedy believes the Polio Vaccine should be available to the public and thoroughly and properly studied," Katie Miller, the transition spokeswoman for Kennedy, said in response.
Meanwhile, Trump said "everything should be looked at," adding that he's a "big believer in the polio vaccine," during a Mar-a-Lago press conference Monday morning.
Fox News Digital reached out to the New York Times for comment but did not receive an immediate reply.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. will be asked to explain some of his beliefs about farming and food production by Republicans who are protective of the agricultural industry in their states. This could stand in the way of a smooth confirmation if he doesn't manage to address their concerns.
"They've got to be able to use modern farming techniques, and that involves a lot of things, not only really sophisticated equipment, but also fertilizers and pesticides. So, we have to have that conversation," Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., told reporters.
"I'm always going to stand up for farmers and ranchers."
Hoeven told Fox News Digital he would need certain assurances from Kennedy to support him.
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, told reporters he wants Kennedy "to understand that when I started farming in 1960, we raised 50 bushels of corn to the acre. Now, we raise on an annual average about 200 in Iowa. A lot more than that.
"And you can't feed 9 billion people on the face of the earth [if] we don't take advantage of genetic engineering."
Before meeting with Trump's pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Tuesday, Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., told reporters he planned to ask him about pesticide use.
Afterward, it seemed Kennedy addressed any concerns, because Tuberville wrote on X, "Our meeting reaffirmed what I already knew: RFK Jr. is the right man to make sure our food is safe, bring transparency to vaccines and health care, and Make America Healthy Again."
While some Republicans are worried about the agricultural implications of Kennedy's positions, his food safety stances are providing some level of appeal to certain Democrats, whose votes he could potentially need to be confirmed.
A number of Democratic senators told Fox News Digital their interest was piqued by Kennedy's thoughts on food regulations, but none said they had meetings scheduled yet.
"His approach to food and nutrition is more direct and perhaps might be more successful than continuing the way we've been doing it," Sen. John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., told Fox News Digital.
"I'm definitely looking forward to him coming in and testifying."
A representative for Kennedy did not provide comment to Fox News Digital in time for publication.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told Fox News Digital he plans to meet with Senate Democrats, in addition to Republicans, as he looks to shore up support for confirmation as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in President-elect Trump's incoming administration.
Asked by Fox News Digital whether he would be meeting with Democrats on the Hill as well, Kennedy, a former Democrat himself, said, "Oh yeah."
However, the former independent presidential candidate didn't say which Senate Democrats he would meet.
"I don't know," he said when asked by reporters.
Kennedy kicked off his Capitol Hill meetings for his HHS bid on Monday, meeting with several Republicans. No Democratic senators were included in a list of dozens of lawmakers that he was set to meet with at the beginning of the week.
Last month, Trump announced Kennedy as his HHS pick. The two were initially running against each other in the 2024 election before Kennedy dropped out and endorsed Trump.
Kennedy's confirmation could face several obstacles, particularly when it comes to vaccines, agriculture and abortion.
He has been an outspoken skeptic of vaccinations, which some Republican and Democrat senators have pointed to as a concern.
Kennedy is also pro abortion rights and has supported abortion access throughout his life, which has left some Republicans with questions, as HHS has some authority over regulations that apply to abortion and those who provide them.
His critiques of the food industry and farming have given him some appeal with Democrats, but at the same time, Republicans representing agricultural states have stressed that they want to protect farmers and ranchers from certain burdensome policies and regulations.
It's unclear what exactly the coalition supporting Kennedy will look like in the Senate, whether he will have the support of all Republicans or if some Democrats will be needed to get him over the finish line.
President-elect Donald Trump dispelled rumors Monday that his administration would seek to ban the polio vaccine, telling reporters Monday, "that's not going to happen."
Questions about how Trump's nominee for Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has made a name for himself challenging the efficacy of vaccines, and on Friday the New York Times published a report that raised concerns he will attempt to ban the polio vaccine. According to the report, a lawyer assisting Kennedy with staffing the department, previously petitioned to pause the distribution of 13 vaccines while working for nonprofit Informed Consent Action Network, including a vaccine for polio.
When asked by reporters during a press conference from Trump's Mar-A-Lago resort whether his administration would ban the vaccine, Trump replied "No," but said he wanted Kennedy "to come back with a report as to what he thinks" about the polio vaccine.
"We're going to have reports – nothing is going to happen very quickly," Trump told reporters. "I think you're going to find that [Kennedy] is much – he's a very rational guy. I found him to be very rational."
Trump pointed out to reporters that he has friends who have been affected by the poliovirus and noted how when they took the vaccine "it ended." He also lauded Dr. Jonas Salk, inventor of the first polio vaccine, for his efforts to help people like his friends.
While Trump's response squashed rumors his administration was planning on banning the polio vaccine, he did raise concern about the rising rates of autism in the United States, which Kennedy has linked to vaccines in the past.
"We're going to look into finding why the Autism rate is so much higher than it was 20, 25, 30 years ago," Trump said during his response about banning the polio vaccine. "I mean it's, like, 100 times higher. There's something wrong and we're going to try finding that."
In response to an inquiry about the future of the polio vaccine, a Trump transition team spokesperson said, "Mr. Kennedy believes the Polio Vaccine should be available to the public and thoroughly and properly studied."
An adviser to President-elect Trump's campaign, Alex Bruesewitz, passed out and collapsed as he was speaking onstage during a New York Young Republican Club gala Sunday night.
Bruesewitz, 27, was introducing incoming White House senior aide Dan Scavino inside a venue in Manhattan when he began stumbling over his words and fainted, video on social media shows.
Several people quickly rushed to his aid after his collapse. It was not immediately clear what caused him to faint.
Master of ceremonies Raheem Kassam, also a former aide of British conservative politician Nigel Farage, later assured the audience that Bruesewitz was doing fine backstage and that he even asked if he "look[ed] cool" when he fainted.
"I talked to our friend Alex Bruesewitz and you know what he said to me? He goes 'Did I at least look cool?' I said Alex, you used gravity like I've seen nobody use gravity before in their lives," Kassam said. "But he's recuperating back there, so give him a big cheer so he'll hear you."
Trump also said following the collapse that he believes Bruesewitz will be fine, according to the New York Post.
"I know that Alex is going to be fine because he’s a tough son of a gun," Trump said. "There’s no doubt about that. So I want to say hello to Alex, because he’s a very special guy."
Bruesewitz is the CEO of consultancy firm X Strategies LLC, which states its mission to help elect "America First" candidates. Its website says he is "a prominent political consultant and strategist known for his unwavering support of President Donald Trump and the America First agenda."
The website adds that Bruesewitz "has been the driving force behind the efforts to defeat Republicans who fight against Trump and the MAGA movement and works to replace them with Republicans who fight for the values we hold dear."
Before his collapse, Bruewitz appeared to be OK while commending the New York Republican Club for backing Trump's campaign. He also gave shout-outs to several supporters of the incoming president who were at the event, including former Florida congressman Matt Gaetz, who recently resigned from his U.S. House seat.
Other notable speakers at the event included former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon and senior adviser to President-elect Trump, Corey Lewandowski.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will be on Capitol Hill this week for a series of meetings with senators after being chosen by President-elect Donald Trump to head up the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in his next term.
Kennedy is expected to spend four days on the Hill before lawmakers leave town for Christmas.
While he's there, Kennedy is expected to be pressed on his beliefs about abortion, which have left some Republicans with questions, as well as the efficacy of vaccines, which bipartisan lawmakers have publicly expressed concern about.
"I want to know what his real concerns are and what he would want to do different. But I do not want to lose our vaccine programs," Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., recently told reporters, reflecting on his time as governor overseeing such programs.
Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., shared that while he will meet with Kennedy, he is already a resounding "yes."
"I've had the privilege to already sit down and answer most of my questions. We will meet, but I was supportive of the president nominating him for it," he said.
"So, I was supporting before that even took place."
Mullin, a close ally of Trump, noted that he had spent significant time with Kennedy on the campaign trail.
Kennedy is a prominent vaccination skeptic and has expressed his own criticism of many popular shots. This has drawn criticism from some on both sides of the aisle, as vaccinations have been commonly relied on for preventing viruses in childhood and diminishing their spread.
Since getting behind Trump before the end of the campaign, however, Kennedy has moderated his tack on vaccines somewhat. In an interview with NBC News, he pushed back at the suggestion that he is "anti-vaccine."
"If vaccines are working for somebody, I’m not going to take them away," he promised.
"So, I’m going to make sure scientific safety studies and efficacy are out there, and people can make individual assessments about whether that product is going to be good for them."
Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., told Fox News Digital that he expects to meet with Kennedy. A staunch pro-life advocate, Lankford has previously said he had many questions about Kennedy's position on abortion.
A number of other Republicans have previously expressed to Fox News Digital their interest in talking to Kennedy about abortion.
At the same time, Kennedy has managed to appeal to some politicians with his plans to tighten food regulations and "make America healthy again."
The longtime Democrat-turned-independent could potentially gain support from those on the Democratic side of the aisle, given that there is bipartisan backing for addressing food safety.
It's unclear with whom Kennedy will meet on Capitol Hill, but some Democrats have signaled that their doors are open.
A representative for Kennedy declined to comment to Fox News Digital on the visits planned this week.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., underwent surgery for a hip replacement overseas Saturday after she fell earlier this week in Luxembourg, a spokesperson said.
"Earlier this morning, Speaker Emerita Pelosi underwent a successful hip replacement and is well on the mend," Pelosi spokesperson Ian Krager said in a statement.
"Speaker Pelosi is grateful to U.S. military staff at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center at Landstuhl Army Base and medical staff at Hospital Kirchberg in Luxembourg for their excellent care and kindness.
"Speaker Pelosi is enjoying the overwhelming outpouring of prayers and well wishes and is ever determined to ensure access to quality health care for all Americans."
Pelosi, 84, tripped and fell following a group photo with other lawmakers and officials during a visit to Luxembourg for the Battle of the Bulge remembrances, the Wall Street Journal reported.
"While traveling with a bipartisan Congressional delegation in Luxembourg to mark the 80th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge, Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi sustained an injury during an official engagement and was admitted to the hospital for evaluation," Ian Krager, her spokesperson, said in a statement Friday.
"We welcome NASA [Administrator] Bill Nelson and Members of Congress to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge in Luxembourg and Belgium," it said. "The sacrifices of brave WWII soldiers echo from the past, reminding us that each generation must continue the fight for freedom and democracy."
Fox News Digital's Greg Norman and Chad Pergram contributed to this report.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell gave a stern warning to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. after a report highlighted how one of Kennedy's associates had sought to rescind approval for a polio vaccine.
McConnell, a polio survivor, said in a statement that "efforts to undermine public confidence in proven cures are not just uninformed – they’re dangerous."
"Anyone seeking the Senate’s consent to serve in the incoming Administration would do well to steer clear of even the appearance of association with such efforts," he added, without naming Kennedy, a vaccine skeptic who is President-elect Trump's choice to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.
McConnell's statement follows a New York Times report on Friday that highlighted how Kennedy's personal attorney, Aaron Siri, had represented clients in cases that sought to rescind approval for a version of the polio vaccine and others.
"Like millions of families before them, my parents knew the pain and fear of watching their child struggle with the life-altering diagnosis of polio. From the age of two, normal life without paralysis was only possible for me because of the miraculous combination of modern medicine and a mother’s love. But for millions who came after me, the real miracle was the saving power of the polio vaccine," McConnell said.
"For decades, I have been proud to work with devoted advocates – from Rotary International to the Gates Foundation – and use my platform in public life to champion the pursuit of cures for further generations. I have never flinched from confronting specious disinformation that threatens the advance of lifesaving medical progress, and I will not today.
The GOP leader was joined by his Democratic counterpart, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who demanded that RFK Jr. make his position on the polio vaccine clear.
"This would undoubtedly make America sick again," Schumer said, sharing the Times report on X. "It’s outrageous and dangerous for people in the Trump Transition to try and get rid of the polio vaccine that has virtually eradicated polio in America and saved millions of lives. RFK Jr. must state his position on this."
Reached for comment, a Trump transition team spokesperson said, "Mr. Kennedy believes the Polio Vaccine should be available to the public and thoroughly and properly studied."
A Montana law banning transgender surgeries for minors will remain temporarily blocked following a state Supreme Court ruling that a Republican lawmaker is calling an "egregious example of hyperpartisanship."
The justices sided with a lower court judge who found that the law -- which sought to prohibit the use of puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and surgical treatments for gender dysphoria -- likely violates Montana’s constitutional right to privacy.
Republican Sen. John Fuller, who sponsored the bill before it was signed into law by Gov. Greg Gianforte in April 2023, told The Associated Press that the decision on Wednesday "is an egregious example of the hyperpartisanship of the Montana Supreme Court."
He criticized the courts for upholding the "ability to sterilize and mutilate children" and denying protection to children "from unscientific and experimental drugs and operations that have grown increasingly evident as a danger to children."
The ruling came on the same day the United Kingdom announced that "existing emergency measures banning the sale and supply of puberty-suppressing hormones will be made indefinite, following official advice from medical experts."
"Children’s healthcare must always be evidence-led. The independent expert Commission on Human Medicines found that the current prescribing and care pathway for gender dysphoria and incongruence presents an unacceptable safety risk for children and young people," Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said in a statement.
In Montana’s case, transgender youth argued the law would ban them from continuing to receive gender-affirming medical care, violating their constitutional rights to equal protection, the right to seek health care and the right to dignity. The state Supreme Court upheld the injunction based on the right to privacy, which court rulings have said includes the right to make personal medical decisions free from government interference.
Montana is one of at least 26 states that have passed bans on gender-affirming medical care for minors and most face lawsuits. Some bans have been temporarily blocked by courts, while others have been allowed to take effect. Fifteen states have enacted protections for gender-affirming medical care for minors.
"Today’s ruling permits our clients to breathe a sigh of relief," Akilah Deernose, the executive director of the ACLU of Montana, said in a statement. "But the fight for trans rights is far from over. We will continue to push for the right of all Montanans, including those who are transgender, to be themselves and live their lives free of intrusive government interference."
The case against the Montana law now goes to trial before District Court Judge Jason Marks, with the state attorney general’s office telling the AP it looks forward to defending the law.
"In upholding the district court’s flawed decision to temporarily block a duly enacted law, the Supreme Court put the wellbeing of children -- who have yet to reach puberty -- at risk by allowing experimental treatments that could leave them to deal with serious and irreversible consequences for the rest of their lives to continue," spokesperson Chase Scheuer said to the news agency.
In a majority opinion, Justice Beth Baker wrote that the law, titled Senate Bill 99, blocks "lawful medications and procedures administered by competent and licensed health care providers," according to The Washington Examiner.
"SB 99 affords no room for decision-making by a patient in consultation with their doctors and parents," she reportedly added. "The statute is a complete ban, prohibiting individualized care tailored to the needs of each patient based on the exercise of professional medical judgment and informed consent."
President Biden slammed Republicans for not understanding how advancing women's health not only improves the lives of women but also the prosperity of the entire nation. He made the remark during a first-of-its-kind conference on women's health research at the White House Wednesday afternoon.
"The fact is, the health of our moms, and grandmothers, sisters and daughters, friends and colleagues, affects not just women's well-being but the prosperity of the entire nation," Biden said at the conference. "That's a fact – we haven't gotten that through to the other team yet. I mean it – across the board."
Republicans, meanwhile, questioned whether Democrats understand the need to protect women, citing, in particular, Biden administration policies that sought to allow transgender women to use biological women's spaces and play on women's sports teams.
"Is any Democrat willing to stand up and defend girls and protect girls in private, in their private spaces, and protect girls in sports – not to force girls to participate in sports against men?" asked Tiffany Justice, the co-founder of the conservative nonprofit Moms for Liberty. "The idea that Democrats protect women or respect women is just absolutely nonsense."
Justice pointed to Biden's appointment of Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, "who was unwilling to define what a woman was" when pressed on the matter during her confirmation hearings.
The Heritage Foundation's Sarah Perry, a civil rights attorney who has extensive experience litigating Title IX issues, noted that Biden's remarks had an underlying tone of "abortion is health care," which was a hot-button issue for Republicans during this year's election.
"This is an administration that has made a name for itself in advancing the most radical ideologue policies," Perry said. "I mean, he's got a man in a dress at HHS telling us what health care is. That is the specious nature of those kinds of representations."
Colin Reed, a GOP strategist, added that the electoral success seen last month by Republicans was an indication that the American people reject these sorts of arguments from Democrats.
"The Democratic Party has become a one-trick pony trying to speak to voters facing across-the-board challenges," he said. "Until Democrats start meeting voters where they are at, they will continue losing elections."
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Karoline Leavitt, Trump-Vance Transition spokeswoman, noted that Trump campaigned on "making ALL Americans" healthy again, including women, adding that Trump "will deliver on that promise."
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment but did not receive a response.
FIRST ON FOX: Arkansas Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders has sent a letter to the incoming Trump administration heads of the Health and Agriculture departments, calling for the end of junk food as part of the federal food stamp program.
"As you know, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is a $113 billion federal program designed to support low income families with food assistance," Sanders wrote in a letter obtained by Fox News Digital to HHS Secretary-nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Agriculture Secretary-nominee Brooke Rollins. "Unfortunately, this ‘Nutrition Assistance’ program is undermining the health of millions of Americans, on the taxpayers’ dime, by encouraging families to eat highly processed, unhealthy junk food."
"In fact, soda, unhealthy snacks, candy, and dessert account for nearly 23 percent, or $25 billion, of all SNAP purchases. Given the relationship between junk food and poor health, our federal food assistance policies are fueling obesity, diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, and a wide range of chronic health conditions around America."
Sanders cited her experience as a mother of three as motivation for "improving maternal health outcomes" in children and explained that one third of the people in her state suffer from diabetes or pre-diabetes, and 40% struggle with obesity.
"Sadly, these health conditions disproportionately affect lower-income families-the same people who rely on SNAP for food," Sanders wrote.
Sanders cited the work of Stanford University Professor Jayanta Bhattacharya, nominated by President-elect Donald Trump to head the National Institutes of Health, which concluded that removing sugary drinks and snacks from the SNAP program would prevent obesity in 141,000 children and Type 2 diabetes in 240,000 adults.
"Health-centered SNAP reform also offers a great opportunity for Americans to support Arkansas farmers by enjoying Arkansas-grown and harvested poultry, eggs, beef, pecans, peanuts, soy, strawberries, sweet potatoes, rice, peaches, oats, and more," Sanders wrote. "As someone who believes in the Trump administration’s unifying, aspirational vision for the future, the time has come to support American farmers and end taxpayer-funded junk food."
"As Secretaries, I ask that you work collaboratively across the Administration to prohibit the sale of junk food in SNAP and end taxpayer-funded junk food. I also wish to notify you of my intent to pursue a SNAP waiver from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service that would support fresh fruits, vegetables, eggs, and protein and prohibit using SNAP for junk food."
Sanders closes the letter by saying, "Together, we can, and we will, Make America Healthy Again."
Sanders' letter is likely to have a sympathetic ear in the form of Kennedy Jr., who has openly expressed his desire for healthier food in the United States.
"We have a generation of kids who are swimming around in a toxic soup right now," Kennedy previously told Fox News in regards to process foods. "We’re letting these industries corrupt our agencies and mass poison them."
A congressional subcommittee concluded its two-year investigation on the coronavirus pandemic on Monday, finding that COVID-19 likely originated from a lab in Wuhan, China, and that social distancing and masking were not backed with scientific data.
The Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic released its final 520-page report that stated "COVID-19 most likely emerged from a laboratory in Wuhan, China."
In support of the "lab leak" theory, the report said the subcommittee learned that the virus had a biological characteristic that is not found in nature and that data showed all COVID-19 cases stemming from a single introduction to humans.
"By nearly all measures of science, if there was evidence of a natural origin it would have already surfaced," the report says.
The report also noted that China’s foremost SARS research lab is in Wuhan, "which has a history of conducting gain-of-function research at inadequate biosafety levels," and that researchers at the lab "were sick with a COVID-like virus in the fall of 2019, months before COVID-19 was discovered at the wet market."
Initial rumors swirled at the beginning of the pandemic that China’s wet markets, which are known for selling meat, fish, produce and exotic animals in unsanitary conditions, were the origin of the virus.
The report also found that social distancing "was not based on science."
"During closed door testimony, Dr. [Anthony] Fauci testified that the guidance, ‘sort of just appeared,’" the report states.
Fauci was the public face of the federal government's coronavirus pandemic response. He has faced intense criticism for his handling of the pandemic.
The subcommittee also found "no conclusive evidence" that wearing masks protected Americans from COVID-19.
The measures led to long-term impacts on American adults and children. The report found that unemployment skyrocketed and children "lost decades worth of academic progress."
Stanford-trained physician and economist Jay Bhattacharya has officially been nominated by President-elect Donald Trump to serve as the next director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Trump made the announcement in a Truth Social post, writing: "I am thrilled to nominate Jay Bhattacharya, MD, PhD, to serve as Director of the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Bhattacharya will work in cooperation with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to direct the Nation’s Medical Research, and to make important discoveries that will improve Health, and save lives."
Bhattacharya met this week with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who was nominated by Trump to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the NIH and other health agencies, and impressed the former presidential candidate with his ideas to overhaul the NIH, which oversees U.S. biomedical research, according to a report by The Washington Post.
The NIH also awards funding grants to hundreds of thousands of researchers, oversees clinical trials on its Maryland campus and supports a variety of efforts to develop drugs and therapeutics.
The nominee for the NIH director must be confirmed by the Senate, which will have a Republican majority beginning in January.
Bhattacharya has called for moving the NIH's focus toward funding more innovative research and cutting the influence of some of its longest-serving officials.
Kennedy Jr. has played a central role in choosing top health care staff and deputies for Trump's next administration, including Johns Hopkins surgeon Marty Makary, who Trump selected to lead the Food and Drug Administration, and internal medicine physician and former Republican congressman from Florida Dave Weldon, who Trump chose to head the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to the report.
Bhattacharya and Makary worked together on a blueprint for a proposed commission to investigate the nation’s coronavirus response, the report noted.
Trump's selections of Makary, Weldon and family and emergency medicine physician Janette Nesheiwat, who the president-elect nominated to serve as surgeon general, also must be confirmed by the Senate.
Bhattacharya was a prominent critic of the federal government's COVID-19 response during the early days of the pandemic. He co-wrote an open letter in October 2020, during Trump's first term, that called for the government to roll back pandemic shutdowns but maintain "focused protections" for vulnerable populations, such as the elderly.
The suggestion was supported by Republican lawmakers and many Americans who were critical of shutdowns and wanted to return to pre-pandemic life. However, public health experts, including then-NIH Director Francis S. Collins, criticized the proposal as premature and dangerous amid the spread of COVID-19 at a time when vaccines were not yet available.
Bhattacharya has also called for rolling back the power of some of the 27 institutes and centers that make up the NIH, arguing that some career civil servants wrongly shaped national policies at the height of the pandemic and did not allow dissenting perspectives.
He, along with other critics of the agency, have criticized former Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Anthony Fauci, who helped shape the nation’s coronavirus response during the Trump and Biden administrations before leaving the federal government in December 2022.
The NIH has also been investigated by congressional lawmakers over the pandemic response, with Republicans charging that the agency’s leaders mismanaged the response to the virus and calling for the agency to be overhauled.
Current and former NIH officials, including Fauci, have defended the agency’s response, arguing that federal leaders generally did the best that they could to address the virus.
In a statement on Friday evening, Trump said that Dr. Nesheiwat is a "fierce advocate and strong communicator for preventative medicine and public health."
"I am proud to announce that Dr. Janette Nesheiwat will be the Nation’s Doctor as the United States Surgeon General. Dr. Nesheiwat is a double board-certified Medical Doctor with an unwavering commitment to saving and treating thousands of American lives," he said.
Nesheiwat is a former Fox News medical contributor.
"She is committed to ensuring that Americans have access to affordable, quality healthcare, and believes in empowering individuals to take charge of their health to live longer, healthier lives," he added.
Nesheiwat serves as a medical director at CityMD, a network of urgent care centers in New York and New Jersey, and she was previously a physician at Washington Regional Medical Center and at Northwest Medical Hospital.
Trump said that during the pandemic, Nesheiwat "worked on the front lines in New York City treating thousands of Americans and helped patients in the aftermath of President Donald Trump’s Historic Operation Warp Speed that saved hundreds of millions of lives."
He also praised her "expertise and leadership" after Hurricane Katrina and the Joplin tornadoes.
"She is also a member of Samaritan's Purse Disaster Assistance, Relief Team, and has provided lifesaving care during crises in Morocco, Haiti, and Poland," he added.
Nesheiwat graduated from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and was inspired by her widowed immigrant mother's "resilience and compassion" to pursue a "life of service, transforming her deep-seated desire to help others into a distinguished medical career."
He added, "Dr. Nesheiwat will play a pivotal role in MAKING AMERICA HEALTHY AGAIN!"
In a statement on Friday evening, Trump said that Dr. Nesheiwat is a "fierce advocate and strong communicator for preventative medicine and public health."
"I am proud to announce that Dr. Janette Nesheiwat will be the Nation’s Doctor as the United States Surgeon General. Dr. Nesheiwat is a double board-certified Medical Doctor with an unwavering commitment to saving and treating thousands of American lives," he said.
Nesheiwat is a former Fox News medical contributor.
"Dr. Nesheiwat is a fierce advocate and strong communicator for preventive medicine and public health," he said. "She is committed to ensuring that Americans have access to affordable, quality healthcare, and believes in empowering individuals to take charge of their health to live longer, healthier lives."
Oklahoma football coach Brent Venables' wife Julie is fighting another bout with cancer.
The Venables family initially learned of Julie's cancer diagnosis in 2023. She underwent two procedures, one in August and another in November.
During his weekly coach's show, Venables revealed Julie's cancer returned several months ago. Julie has spent time in Norman, Oklahoma, and New York since May. She underwent surgery to remove a tumor, but Venables noted that she is doing "amazing."
Julie spoke with The Oklahoman earlier this year and prior to her second diagnosis and said she had "zero cancer" and felt she was in good health.
Venables praised Julie for her strength and said she has the support of "a great team."
"Her spirit and her strength is nothing short of amazing," Venables said. "We've got a great team and great faith. It's in God's hands. A big part of the battle was her wanting to just fight and keep swinging, and that's what she's doing."
Prior to Oklahoma's game against the UCF Golden Knights in October 2023, the Sooners' home field underwent some special upgrades in recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness.
Pink ribbons were painted in both end zones, and Sooners players and coaches wore pink as they walked to the stadium. Brent and Julie Venables have been married 27 years and have four children.
Oklahoma entered Week 13 with a 5-5 record. The Sooners welcome the Alabama Crimson Tide to Memorial Stadium Saturday.
The nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has rankled some abortion opponents, who are concerned about his past statements expressing a liberal position on reproductive rights.
Kennedy, a former Democrat who ran for president as an independent before backing Trump, has said in multiple interviews that while he's "personally pro-life," he does not believe it's the government's role to interfere with a woman's right to terminate her pregnancy. As recently as May, he said a woman should be able to have an abortion when she's full term, although he later walked that statement back and announced support for some restrictions on abortion.
Pro-life groups that spoke to Fox News Digital expressed optimism about Trump's election win, noting his previous administration's strong support for their cause. But they are seeking clarification from Kennedy on how he would use the sweeping powers at HHS to shape regulations on abortion pills and control funding to abortion providers like Planned Parenthood.
"He certainly needs to change his position on abortion just in order to be consistent," said Shawn Carney, co-founder and CEO of 40 Days for Life. "Look, if RFK wants to take away our Fruity Pebbles and our Cool Ranch Doritos — both of which are great American institutions — because they're unhealthy, you can't do that and also deny health care to a baby girl who survives an abortion or support abortion at 40 weeks."
Kennedy did not respond to requests for comment for this story. His nomination was met with outright opposition from some pro-lifers, including former Vice President Mike Pence.
"The Trump-Pence administration was unapologetically pro-life for our four years in office. There are hundreds of decisions made at HHS every day that either lead our nation toward a respect for life or away from it, and HHS under our administration always stood for life," Pence said in a lengthy statement on the website for his Advancing American Freedom nonprofit Friday.
He called Kennedy's nomination a "departure from the pro-life record of our administration," citing Kennedy's past pro-choice statements.
"If confirmed, RFK, Jr. would be the most pro-abortion Republican appointed secretary of HHS in modern history," Pence wrote.
The Department of Health and Human Services has a "major impact on abortion access," said healthcare attorney Harry Nelson, founder and managing partner at Nelson Hardiman, LLP.
The Food and Drug Administration, a sub-agency of HHS, has direct power over the availability of the abortion pill, Mifepristone. Known by the brand name Mifeprex, the pill is taken with misoprostol in a two-drug regimen that first deprives an unborn baby of hormones it needs to stay alive and then causes cramps and contractions to expel the dead fetus from its mother's womb.
The Biden administration has taken several actions to deregulate and increase access to Mifepristone by making it available via telemedicine nationally. Pro-life groups have fought in court to have that deregulation overturned.
"Their efforts earlier this year failed at the Supreme Court but having leadership atop FDA who are sympathetic would be a major impact and make this the biggest abortion issue in the country," said Nelson.
HHS also oversees grant funding via Title X and other programs for abortion providers like Planned Parenthood. Pro-life activists have urged the incoming Trump administration to defund these providers. Additionally, HHS is responsible for enforcing federal law that requires emergency care to stabilize patients, including women with health risks from pregnancy. The Biden administration has sought to use the law, called EMTALA, to require states to permit doctors to administer emergency abortions when the life of the mother is at risk.
"It will be interesting to see RFK’s impact and also how the Trump team around him change things," Nelson said. "I don’t think this is an issue RFK is going to be personally passionate about. The Pro-life hardliners are going to be gunning for Mifepristone, and that will be the primary battle to watch."
Kennedy has said that his position on the issue has evolved since learning about the rates of elective late-term abortions.
During an interview with comedians Shane Gillis and Matt McCusker in May, Kennedy acknowledged, "My position on abortion was that it should always be a woman's choice right up to the very end."
"In the ninth month, you're basically killing a child, right? My presumption was that [...] no woman is going to deliberately carry a child for nine months, then two days before it's born, abort it. Who would do that?"
However, he claimed to have changed his view after examining data regarding late-term abortions and finding out they are more frequent than he once believed.
"But then I learned I was wrong, that there are actually a huge amount, comparatively, of elective abortions at that time," he said during the interview. "And my belief at that time is that at that time you have a wholly formed, viable child and the state has some interest in protecting that baby."
Some pro-lifers are giving Kennedy the benefit of the doubt because they trust Trump's judgment. In his first term, Trump kept his campaign promise to nominate pro-life judges to the U.S. Supreme Court, which overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022 after nearly a half-century of anti-abortion activism.
"There's no question that we need a pro-life HHS secretary, and of course, we have concerns about Robert F. Kennedy Jr. I believe that no matter who is HHS secretary, baseline policies set by President Trump during his first term will be re-established," Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life President Marjorie Dannenfelser said.
Brian Burch, president of CatholicVote, said Kennedy is not "easily labeled."
"He has publicly admitted his comments on unlimited abortion were mistaken. He has also said abortion is a tragedy, and that we must help as many women as possible that want to keep their children," Burch told Fox News Digital.
Kennedy teamed up with CatholicVote days before Election Day in a TV ad urging Catholics to support Trump that aired in swing state Pennsylvania. Burch told Semafor that the collaboration came months after Kennedy talked about his abortion views with his group and after they agreed "we need to be spending an equal amount of money on helping women choose to keep their child as we are on helping them to get abortions."
In comments to Fox News Digital, Burch praised Kennedy's advocacy against "Big Pharma, Big Food and Big Government," saying these are issues the pro-life movement can readily work on with the Trump administration if Kennedy is confirmed by the Senate.
"There is no denying that RFK is not your traditional pro-life advocate. For this reason, we will vigorously oppose any HHS effort to expand or promote abortion or abortion funding. But we are also confident that the reforms he is proposing will lead to a rethinking of the entire food, medical, and drug industry that enables our tragic abortion-minded culture," Burch said.
Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life Action, told Fox News Digital that Kennedy "was the only presidential candidate who admitted he was wrong about abortion in America and changed his mind."
"Whoever ends up at HHS, we are going to want to talk with them about how HHS has been weaponized with prejudice against pro-life Americans, including pro-life hospitals, and for more abortion," Hawkins said.
Still, others remain skeptical.
"I don't think anybody has confidence that RFK would undo some of the Biden abortion policies. He hasn't shown that he has publicly supported abortion through 40 weeks," said Carney. "I think many would say this is his only flaw."
Fox News Digital's Timothy H.J. Nerozzi contributed to this report.
