Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said if he was a woman he wouldn’t take medical advice from Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., citing recent claims the secretary made that President Trump endorsed.
MSNOW’s senior Capitol Hill correspondent Ali Vitali asked Thune in a Thursday interview whether the GOP was becoming a “party of no dissent,” noting that lawmakers like Republican Sens. Bill Cassidy (La.) and Susan Collins (Maine) — who are up for reelection — are among the few who have publicly disagreed with party leadership and the White House on some issues.
Thune said he disagreed with that assertion and said he dissented on some issues, citing the administration’s position on pregnant women using Tylenol as one example. Vitali asked whether he believed Kennedy’s rhetoric on the over-the-counter medication was dangerous.
“If I were a woman, I’d be talking to my doctor and not taking, you know, advice from RFK or any other government bureaucrat for that matter,” Thune said.
Last month, speaking from the Oval Office, Kennedy and Trump both claimed that acetaminophen could be linked to autism, with the president saying, “Taking Tylenol is not good.”
Obstetric and fetal medicine societies came out strongly against the claims, reiterating that acetaminophen is one of the few safe and effective pain relievers available for pregnant women.
Following Trump’s remarks, Thune gave a measured response that did not endorse the claims.
“My view is we ought to be very guarded in making broad assertions and make sure that they are well grounded in science and medicine, and where we’re taking the consultation advice of experts in the field and ensuring that these things are all well documented,” he said.
After Thune’s interview aired on Thursday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s (D) press office slammed Thune, writing on social media, “Imagine voting to confirm a guy and then telling half the country not to take his quack medical advice.”
