
Colbert Says RFK Jr. Is Not Even Qualified to Work at Jamba Juice
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Pet Feed
President Trump's nominee for health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., appeared before the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday, where he was questioned about his views on vaccines, abortion and baby onesies sold by an anti-vaccination nonprofit organization he founded in 2016.
Stephen Colbert said, 'If you're alarmed about RFK Jr. becoming our health secretary, there's a good chance you may be a member of his family,' referring to Caroline Kennedy's letter and video urging the Senate to reject her cousin's nomination on the grounds that he's unqualified, and a 'predator.' She also said that he used to enjoy putting baby chickens and mice in a blender to feed his pet hawks.
That behavior is disgusting and cruel, and it completely disqualifies him from working for H.H.S. and for Jamba Juice. Plus, why did he have to blend up food for his hawks? They swallow their prey whole. It's not like they are up their flying around with a Nutribullet. — STEPHEN COLBERT
''He put baby chickens and mice in a blender to feed to his hawks.' And guess what? Not one of the 27 senators on the finance committee asked him about it today. Not one! We've reached the point where these cabinet picks are so nutty, the idea that one of them was making Stuart Little smoothies doesn't even come up.' — JIMMY KIMMEL
'He was putting baby chickens and mice in a blender? And ladies, you thought it was bad when a guy brought you back to his dorm room and busted out a guitar.' — MICHAEL KOSTA
'Now, I'm not sure her statement will have much sway because, first of all, blending food — that's just how you feed a hawk. If you've ever looked at their nests, you'll see they always have a little NutriBullet right in there.' — MICHAEL KOSTA
'Basically, if there's an animal corpse anywhere in America, RFK Jr. is probably involved.' — MICHAEL KOSTA
'Well, that explains why he lost the job at Jamba Juice.' — JIMMY KIMMEL
The Punchiest Punchlines (Unqualified Kennedy Edition)
'Another weird day in Washington today where a man who does not believe in medical science may soon be in charge of medical science.' — JIMMY KIMMEL
'Health and Human Services Secretary nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testified today before the Senate Finance Committee. In related news, the Senate Finance Committee now has rubella.' — SETH MEYERS
'Yep, RFK Jr. was tested, and he came back positive for everything.' — JIMMY FALLON
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Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Yahoo
As Washington Democratic lawmakers slam 'Big Beautiful Bill,' NW Republicans back it while acknowledging imperfections
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"There's a lot of talk about 'this is a tax cut for the wealthy,'" Crapo told reporters outside the White House. "This is a $2.6 trillion tax increase on people making less than $400,000, and the vast majority of that is for the middle and lower-middle income categories." The crux of the challenge for the GOP is balancing benefits for the businesses and high-income people who have traditionally been the party's constituents with the interests of the working-class Americans who form the party's base in the Trump era, all while appeasing fiscal conservatives who worry about the nation's debt. Reading between the lines of Crapo's statement reveals this tension. The bill would extend the sweeping tax cuts Republicans enacted in 2017 during Trump's first term, so taxes would largely stay the same if it passes, with the exception of temporary tax cuts for tips, overtime wages and Social Security income that were central to the president's campaign. 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Democrats warn that cutting spending on the program won't only affect the people who lose their government-provided health insurance. Leaders of rural hospitals have warned that they could be forced to curtail services or even close due to lost Medicaid revenue, and uninsured patients often delay treatment until they need expensive emergency care. "Whenever we take away health care from anyone, it puts stress on the entire health care system," said Rep. Marilyn Strickland, D-Tacoma. "They're still going to get health care through the emergency room, so all that's going to do is drive up the expense. They will be far more sick and in dire condition when they show up in the emergency room, and that means longer wait times for everybody." The Affordable Care Act of 2010, often called "Obamacare," reduced the number of Americans without health insurance by subsidizing private insurance plans and letting states choose to expand Medicaid coverage to a larger share of their population, which Washington did in 2014 and Idaho did in 2020. Republicans have repeatedly tried and failed to repeal that law, coming close during Trump's first term in 2017 before the late Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., famously killed that effort. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., told reporters on Tuesday that by reducing Medicaid coverage and allowing the expanded subsidies to expire, the GOP bill is "literally just another attempt to repeal the advancements of the Affordable Care Act." "By covering more people, the Affordable Care Act improved access to care, covered millions more Americans and helped us lower costs, but the provisions in the House reconciliation bill will reverse those gains," she said. "And for what? To give a tax break to the ultra-wealthy or to corporations that don't need it." Sen. Jim Risch, an Idaho Republican, said his party faces a difficult balancing act in crafting the bill — especially when they can afford to lose no more than three GOP votes in either the House or Senate — but they ultimately have to get it done to enact Trump's agenda. The bill would also raise the government's borrowing limit by about $4 trillion, which Congress must do before its August recess, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says, or risk a global financial crisis. "I'm concerned about the deficit every moment of every day," Risch said. "The biggest competing thing you have is the fact that we're going into debt, $1 trillion every 150 days. And on the other side, people are unhappy with the rate of taxation they've got, and those things have got to get reconciled. I think they can, but it's a heavy lift." Orion Donovan Smith's work is funded in part by members of the Spokane community via the Community Journalism and Civic Engagement Fund. This story can be republished by other organizations for free under a Creative Commons license. For more information on this, please contact our newspaper's managing editor.
Yahoo
14 hours ago
- Yahoo
RFK Jr. Fires Entire Panel of Vaccine Experts
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has fired a panel of 17 medical and public health experts that advised the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on vaccine policy, and is expected to replace them with individuales aligned with his own vaccine skepticism. In a statement issued on Monday, the Department of Health and Human Services wrote that the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices will be restaffed with 'new members currently under consideration.' 'A clean sweep is necessary to reestablish public confidence in vaccine science,' Kennedy wrote, alleging the committee — which helped coordinate the CDC's annual flu prevention program — had been compromised by conflicts of interest. Members of the committee are required to file ethics disclosures, which are prominently displayed on its website. 'The Biden administration appointed all of the 17 sitting ACIP members. Thirteen of them were appointed in 2024. These appointments would have prevented the current administration from choosing a majority of the committee until 2028,' Kennedy added. The move comes after Kennedy promised Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) that he would make no changes to the committee in order to secure the senator's support for his confirmation. Earlier this year, the annual meeting of the ACIP was postponed without explanation and rescheduled for June. The months-long delay prompted concerns that the timeline for passing along recommendations to manufacturers and communicating with insurance companies would have negative repercussions to patients. In an opinion piece for The Wall Street Journal, Kennedy wrote that 'the new members won't directly work for the vaccine industry. They will exercise independent judgment, refuse to serve as a rubber stamp, and foster a culture of critical inquiry — unafraid to ask hard questions.' Last month, Kennedy's 'Make America Healthy Again' commission released a report that reiterated his own conspiracies about vaccines — and was riddled with citation errors and outright fake research. The so-called MAHA report alluded to disproven claims from vaccine skeptics that the vaccine schedule recommended for children in the United States is overloaded and potentially harmful. The attack against the independent vaccine advisory board is the latest instance in which Kennedy has attempted to mold the nation's leading public health systems around his own pseudoscientific agenda — with the health of millions of Americans in the balance. More from Rolling Stone RFK Jr.'s MAHA Report Cites Research Studies That Don't Exist Why Are Health Influencers Drinking Raw Milk and Honey Shots at the White House? RFK Jr. and Republicans Are Dismantling a Health Achievement: Fluoride in Water Best of Rolling Stone The Useful Idiots New Guide to the Most Stoned Moments of the 2020 Presidential Campaign Anatomy of a Fake News Scandal The Radical Crusade of Mike Pence


USA Today
17 hours ago
- USA Today
RFK Jr. fires entire CDC vaccine advisory panel
RFK Jr. fires entire CDC vaccine advisory panel Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ousted all 17 members of a panel that advises the CDC on the safety, efficacy and clinical needs of vaccines Show Caption Hide Caption RFK Jr. says COVID-19 vaccine no longer recommended for some The COVID-19 vaccine is no longer recommended for healthy children and pregnant women, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has fired all 17 members of a committee that advises the federal government on vaccine safety and will replace them with new members, the Department of Health and Human Services announced on June 9. At issue is the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices, which makes recommendations on the safety, efficacy, and clinical need of vaccines to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It comprises medical and public health experts who develop recommendations on the use of vaccines in the civilian population of the United States. 'Today we are prioritizing the restoration of public trust above any specific pro- or anti-vaccine agenda,' said Kennedy Jr., who has a history of controversial views on vaccines. 'The public must know that unbiased science—evaluated through a transparent process and insulated from conflicts of interest—guides the recommendations of our health agencies.' Kennedy Jr.'s decision marks a reversal from what a key Republican senator said the Trump Cabinet member had promised during his confirmation hearings earlier this year. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-Louisiana, the chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, said Kennedy had promised to maintain the committee's current composition. "If confirmed, he will maintain the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices without changes," Cassidy said. The Biden administration appointed all 17 sitting committee members, with 13 of them taking their seats in 2024. According to Trump's HHS, those appointments would have prevented the current administration from choosing a majority of the committee until 2028. 'A clean sweep is necessary to reestablish public confidence in vaccine science,' said Kennedy, adding that the new members "will prioritize public health and evidence-based medicine". and "no longer function as a rubber stamp for industry profit-taking agendas."