Overview
- Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he would not take medical advice from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. if he were a woman, urging people to consult their doctors instead of government officials.
- He made the remarks in his first MSNBC interview as majority leader during a conversation with Ali Vitali about whether dissent still exists in the GOP.
- Thune referenced the recent Oval Office claims by President Trump and Kennedy linking acetaminophen to autism, which obstetric and fetal medicine societies have strongly rejected as inconsistent with evidence on the drug’s safety in pregnancy.
- Democrats seized on Thune’s prior vote to confirm Kennedy, with California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s press office criticizing him for backing the nominee before advising women to ignore his medical guidance.
- Pressed for examples of internal disagreement, Thune cited the Tylenol dispute and the FCC, and he has previously urged caution that health assertions be grounded in science.