Gov. Jared Polis (D-CO) explained that he supports Robert F. Kennedy Jr.‘s nomination to head the Department of Health and Human Services, despite differing with him on some issues, because he is not a pharmaceutical lobbyist.
Polis took some flak from Democrats upset he bucked the party after he endorsed President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead HHS earlier this month. But the Colorado governor explained during a CNN appearance Friday that his decision came not because he agreed with Kennedy on everything, but because he’s optimistically focused on the common ground they share.
TRUMP CABINET PICKS: WHO’S BEEN TAPPED TO SERVE IN THE PRESIDENT-ELECT’S ADMINISTRATION
Polis agreed during the interview with Democrats who have criticized Kennedy’s stance on vaccines and characterized him as an “anti-vaxxer” though he noted that “like any American, I respect whatever decisions he personally makes.”
But concerns about vaccine positions don’t keep him from backing Kennedy. Describing his position as “a way where I try to look at the glass as half full,” Polis said one of the reasons he’s optimistic about the health department’s new nominee is because, unlike Alex Azar, who led Trump’s HHS during his first term, Kennedy is not tied to the pharmaceutical industry.
Polis said that gives him hope Kennedy will not be beholden to lobbyists, allowing him to root out federal corruption and overhaul HHS in terms of bringing down prescription drug prices and ending the chronic disease epidemic.
WHAT IS THE DEBATE OVER FLUORIDE IN DRINKING WATER
“You know, I’m always was raised in a way where I try to look at the glass as half full. Last time Donald Trump was president, he appointed a pharmaceutical lobbyist in charge of that agency, Alex Azar, we were able to make no progress on prescription drug affordability, on improving health, on reducing chronic disease,” Polis said. “These are things that RFK says he wants to do, as HHS director, save people money on prescription drugs. Colorado has an application to import prescription drugs from Canada, sitting at the desk of HHS, I’m hopeful he’ll approve it.”
Polis’s concerns about corporate influence polluting decision-making at federal agencies has been echoed by Kennedy, who brought worries about conflicts of interest in the country’s top bureaucracies to the forefront of his bid for the White House.
RFK Jr. celebrated earlier this month that Trump’s presidential transition team had cut ties to corporate lobbyists, saying, “There are no corporate lobbyists on that transition, and usually, it’s 100% corporate lobbyists. Oh, it’s very, very different, and it gives me lots of hope. And this government is going to be different than any government we’ve ever seen.”
Kennedy was also critical of Trump’s move to seat a pharmaceutical lobbyist at the top of HHS during his first term, agreeing with Polis that the decision posed a conflict of interest.
Trump himself has expressed regret for many of the Cabinet appointments he made after he won the 2016 presidential election as an outsider, saying he mistakenly relied on the advice of Washington insiders to fill top posts. The president-elect explained in detail during a recent appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast that he made the choices because as a “New York builder,” he didn’t know how to navigate “the Washington world.”
Trump’s strategy this time around has been radically different, Polis argued, as illustrated by his move to tap Kennedy, a deep Washington skeptic, to head the HHS.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Kennedy will need to be voted into his new role during a senate confirmation process. Polis weighed in on the coming affair on Friday, saying he believes it is important to “make sure that this is somebody who won’t make his personal utterings and sayings into official policy but will pursue policies on behalf of the American people.”
“I try to remain optimistic where I can,” Polis said.