Senator James Lankford, R-Okla., Sunday, refused to say that he had 100% confidence in the Secretary of Health, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., saying rather that Kennedy did not take a bad direction on the vaccines.
The comments come only a few days after the Trump administration dismissed the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, triggering an exodus of senior CDC officials of the agency.
Asked the first time if he had 100% confidence in Kennedy, which he voted to confirm, Lankford dismantled, telling the “press” of NBC News that Kennedy does not limit access to the cavid vaccine.
“It is still widely accepted,” said Lankford.
“The challenge is, it is right that children can have the vaccine cocvid? It is a conversation where doctors are largely disagreement on this subject,” he added, before encouraging Americans to obtain their flu vaccines.
Asked a second time to find out if he had 100% confidence in Kennedy, Lankford told “Meet The Press” moderator, Kristen Welker, “I think he is what the president chose. I don’t think he took a bad direction on this subject. ”
NBC News reported last week that former CDC director Susan Monarez came after refusing to sign vaccination advice containing anti-vaccine discussion points. Kennedy is a longtime anti-vaccine activist.
Shortly after the dismissal of Monarez, several other senior CDC officials resigned, including Dr. Debra Houry, the chief doctor; Dr DEMETRE DASKALAKIS, Director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory DIEESES; Dr. Daniel Jernigan, director of the national center for emerging and zoonotic infectious diseases; And Dr. Jen Layden, director of the Office of Public Health, Surveillance and Technology.
Since he took his post earlier this year, Kennedy has already radically reshaped the best prospects of the Federal Agency on Vaccines.
In June, Kennedy dismissed the 17 members of the CDC vaccine advisory committee, the Vaccination Practices Advisory Committee and replaced them with its own appointed persons. Shortly after, the panel received a presentation of an anti-vaccin activist featuring affirmations which have been largely demystified by scientists.
Lankford said on Sunday that Kennedy’s actions were only “pushing the limits”.
“I think he disputes some of the hypotheses that many Americans have asked for,” said the senator. “What are we in our food?” What is it autism? What is different in America from these in different places? I think these are appropriate questions. ”
“”[Kennedy is] push the limits, but it also seems to follow science. It is not bad to be able to ask difficult questions. It is wrong to ignore science. I don’t see it ignoring science. I see him asking the difficult questions, “said the Oklahoma senator.
He later clarified that he does not believe the theory largely demystified according to which the vaccines cause autism, saying to Welker: “I do not connect these two, but there are reasonable questions to say, why do we have more cases of autism here? What is this? But I don’t think they are connected to the vaccines. “
Lankford also spoke of the decision of a court of appeal on Friday evening, which concluded that President Donald Trump had abused his authority to impose radical prices on the foreign nations without the approval of the congress.
The senator has welcomed Trump’s work on the prices in recent months, saying that the president “achieved” his economic objectives with prices.
“For the court to intervene and say that it does not have the capacity to be able to regulate trade-that is to say in the law,” said Lankford, recognizing that the Trump administration plans to appeal the decision before the Supreme Court.
He also blamed legal decisions like this for having caused instability to retailers because they plan their imports and set prices.
“What I hear, Kristen, more than anything else, of all the companies I have spoken to, is that they just wanted to be put. They just want to know what the rules of the road,” said Lankford. “Whenever there is a new audience, whenever there is a new change, it is destabilizing for each of our businesses. So let’s solve all these things as quickly as possible.”
The senator also called on the federal reserve to remain independent of the whims of the executive branch, but stressed that the Fed was part of a collaborative approach to the economy, as well as the president and the congress.
“The president has a role, as he does with prices in several different ways, to be able to negotiate more transactions. The federal reserve also has a role on this subject. So we all have a role in her. We just have a different role,” said Lankford. “The federal reserve is at its best when it is independent, but they are not independent of all the American people.”
Lankford also expressed support for the president’s decision to send federal national guard troops to Washington, DC, earlier this month in what Trump called an effort to limit crime.
Lankford said other cities and jurisdictions, including Oklahoma in its original state, should also invite federal police to also reduce crime rates in their cities.
“If the governor of Oklahoma or the mayors of these different cities should invite him,” said Lankford, “I would say that they would cooperate with the president and say:” Hey, we could use the aid to be able to deal with any type of crime problem. “”
“I would say that the inhabitants of Oklahoma would welcome any help that we can deal with criminal problems,” added Lankford, saying that other cities, like Chicago, “should ask for help rather than repel help.”
