Florida Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna is sounding the alarm about corporate interests jeopardizing President Donald Trump’s nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to be Secretary of Health and Human Services.
Kennedy faces two confirmation hearings next week, but the confirmation of the future Secretary of Health and Human Services is uncertain because of the number of Republicans who have so far remained steadfast. Luna, who supported Kennedy’s nomination and is a driving force behind the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) priorities in Congress, said that if senators oppose Kennedy’s nomination, the country’s chronic disease It warns that it will come under immense pressure from large corporations profiting from the crisis. (Related article: ‘The people will be furious’: MAHA supporters tell senators to think twice before opposing RFK Jr.’s nomination)
“I believe there are nefarious forces in the agriculture and food industry that will begin to put financial top-down pressure on some senators to try to block their confirmation, because they Luna, a member of the House Freedom Caucus, told DCNF that she was not feeling well.[Opposing Kennedy’s nomination] That would mean they are a shitty corporation of corporations who have no interest in keeping the population healthy, but sick for personal gain and profit. ”
“There are a lot of good people here in Washington, but there are also a lot of bad people who seem to be more controlled by corporations,” Luna added.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his wife Cheryl Hines meet Republican Texas Sen. John, a member of the Senate Finance Committee, prior to the inaugural luncheon at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 20, 2025. Talk to Cornyn. He said he intended to support Kennedy’s nomination (Photo: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images).
Luna, who represented Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign, said that if Republican senators oppose Kennedy’s nomination as Secretary of Health and Human Services, the president’s mission and campaign to “make America healthy again” will be compromised. I think it will be a rejection of core commitments. Luna said that if senators vote “no” on Kennedy’s nomination, the entire nation, including self-proclaimed “MAHA moms” who want to feed their families healthy foods free of toxins and harmful additives, will That could lead to a backlash from millions of Trump-Vance voters. , count yourself into that cohort.
“A lot of people don’t know about the underground forces that they’re playing with. Especially moms, they just don’t want this stuff in their food,” she says when she goes to the grocery store. Luna, who describes herself as doing so, says: While shopping, he said during an interview.
Kennedy’s Republican holdout
Mr. Kennedy is scheduled to appear before the Senate Finance Committee and the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee (HELP) on Wednesday and Thursday.
The Finance Committee is likely to vote next week to advance Kennedy’s nomination to the Senate seat. Because of the one Republican seat in the Senate majority If all Democrats on the committee vote against Kennedy, a single Republican senator could block Kennedy’s nomination.
The three Republican senators who serve on the Finance Committee (Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Todd Young of Indiana, and Thom Tillis of North Carolina) have not yet taken firm positions on Kennedy’s nomination. do not have. (Related: President Trump reportedly ends taxpayer-funded security details for Dr. Fauci)
Young’s staff told the DCNF that the Indiana Republican Party meeting The discussion with Kennedy was “very positive.”
Tillis is committed He is allowed to vote for Trump out of committees, but he has not commented on whether he plans to support Kennedy during the Finance Committee vote. A spokesperson for Mr. Tillis did not respond to DCNF’s request for comment.
Cassidy, a former gastroenterologist, praised some of Kennedy’s arguments about ultra-processed foods and chronic disease, but suggested the Health Department nominee was “wrong” about vaccines. interview on “Fox News Sunday” on January 5th.
I had candid conversations with HHS candidates. @RobertKennedyJr. We talked at length about vaccines. We look forward to hearings in HELP and Finance. pic.twitter.com/FIcNYLNlr0
— U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, MD (@SenBillCassidy) January 8, 2025
Republican Sens. Susan Collins (Maine), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), and Mitch McConnell (Kentucky) are also seen as strongly intending to oppose some of President Trump’s nominees. This could pose a problem for Mr. Kennedy. Assuming all Senate Democrats vote against Kennedy leading HHS, just four Republican senators could block Kennedy’s nomination in the full Senate.
MAHA’s momentum towards Kennedy confirmation fight
Luna told the DCNF that many of his fellow Republicans are concerned about the various food and health issues Kennedy has pushed to the forefront of the national political debate when he takes over as HHS secretary during the 2024 presidential campaign. He said he is adopting the position of
“There’s conversations on the floor from other guys, and they’re learning about it now.” [harmful ingredients in the food supply] They have young children and grandchildren, so they’re just scared,” Luna told DCNF. “A lot of people were too trusting and unaware of what was going on in the food industry and in big business production…and instead of the actual high-quality content, the food. I didn’t realize how much they were adding in, basically just a filler,” Luna said. DCNF.
Republican Florida Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna attends a press conference. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
But Florida lawmakers are facing resistance from their own party as they try to regulate harmful chemicals in the food supply.
invoice That Luna introduced Previous legislative efforts to ban artificial colors linked to cancer and high fructose corn syrup linked to increased risk of obesity and diabetes failed to advance through the Republican-controlled Energy and Commerce Committee.
Our food affects every part of our lives, including our hormones, immune system, microbiome, brain chemistry, and more. What we feed our bodies with as energy is important.
That’s why I introduced legislation to ban harmful additives and toxic seed oils from everyday foods. #Maha
— Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (@RepLuna) January 22, 2025
He is considering introducing a bill this Congress that would put warning labels on artificial and harmful food ingredients, which could garner more support from his Republican colleagues than an outright ban. .
Luna’s spokesperson sent the DCNF a list of 15 food additives that she would like to regulate by requiring warning labels on the packaging, similar to those on cigarette packets. Many of these ingredients include red dye 40, green dye 3, and yellow dye 5 and 6. need It has a warning label or is banned in the European Union.
Luna said Biden’s decision to ban Red Dye 3 in the final weeks of the Food and Drug Administration’s administration, a long-standing goal of President Kennedy, further cracks down on harmful additives in food at the federal level. I am optimistic that momentum will increase. supply.
The FDA banned the use of synthetic dyes in cosmetics and topical drugs in 1990 after scientific studies linked them to cancer in laboratory animals, but allowed the coloring additive to remain in the food supply. did.
“It’s not just him. [Kennedy]” Luna told DCNF. “I’ll be pushing it from the House side. I’m going to get sponsors in the Senate. That way we’ll have top-down pressure and be able to attack it from all angles.”
All content produced by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent, nonpartisan news distribution service, is available free of charge to legitimate news publishers with large audiences. All republished articles must include our logo, reporter byline, and DCNF affiliation. If you have any questions about our guidelines or our partnership, please contact us at licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
