Ahead of Confirmation Hearing, Warren Presses HHS Nominee on Dangerous Anti-Vax, Anti-Abortion View
As HHS General Counsel, Michael Stuart would serve as chief legal representative and advisor to RFK Jr., entire agency
“I am concerned that…you will greenlight Trump Administration policies that will endanger public health, strip Americans of their abortion rights, and cause millions of Americans to lose their health insurance.”
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) pressed Michael Stuart, nominee for General Counsel of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), on his dangerous anti-vaccine views, staunch anti-abortion advocacy, and more. Ahead of his confirmation hearing in front of the Senate Finance Committee later today — at which Senator Warren will question Stuart — Senator Warren sent Stuart a letter outlining her key concerns with his nomination.
“Given your ideological views, zealous advocacy for restrictions on abortion, and record of anti-vaccine skepticism, I am concerned that, rather than faithfully following the law, you will greenlight Trump Administration policies that will endanger public health, strip Americans of their abortion rights, and cause millions of Americans to lose their health insurance,” wrote Senator Warren.
As HHS General Counsel, Stuart would serve as the chief legal representative and advisor to Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the entire agency. Stuart’s interpretation of the law would play a key role in ensuring HHS is actually achieving its goal of protecting Americans’ health.
Stuart’s history of anti-vaccine views threaten to endanger Americans — especially given all that Secretary Kennedy has already done to roll back vaccine access. As a West Virginia state senator, Stuart was a key proponent of Secretary Kennedy’s “Make America Healthy Again” campaign and appears to espouse the same anti-vaccine beliefs. As HHS GC, Stuart would advise Secretary Kennedy on critical vaccine-related decisions, including legal standards related to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP).
Senator Warren posed a series of questions about Stuart’s plan to advise HHS on issues related to vaccines, including whether he believes Secretary Kennedy’s decision to fire the entire ACIP panel was done lawfully and whether Secretary Kennedy has the statutory authority to unilaterally change vaccines covered by the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program program.
Senator Warren also pressed Stuart on HHS’s massive cuts to National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding, which totaled $2.7 billion in just the first three months of this year.
“These cuts are under continuing legal scrutiny, and if confirmed, you would be responsible for advising HHS on navigating this legal landscape so as to remain in compliance with the law,” wrote Senator Warren.
Senator Warren highlighted Stuart’s staunch anti-abortion views, including his track record of advancing harmful misinformation about reproductive rights and supporting extremist pieces of anti-abortion legislation as a West Virginia state senator. As HHS General Counsel, Stuart would be responsible for providing legal guidance on reproductive health policies and regulations
“President Trump has frozen millions of dollars in family planning funding, issued executive directives to undermine abortion access, amplified misinformation and sowed confusion about the safety of mifepristone, rolled back protections to shield patients and providers from violence, revoked EMTALA guidance that protected women with medical emergencies, eliminated leave and travel benefits for servicemembers, and more,” wrote Senator Warren. “It is crucial that the person serving in this position be capable of interpreting and enforcing laws and regulations concerning women's access to reproductive health care with a neutral and health-focused lens.”
Senator Warren also raised concerns about how Stuart will approach Secretary Kennedy’s mass firings at HHS, crack down on abusive tactics in Medicare Advantage, protect Head Start from drastic cuts, and implement Donald Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill,” which is set to slash health care for millions of Americans.
“HHS carries an enormous responsibility as its services and programming touch millions of American lives every day…The chief legal adviser to the Secretary of HHS must be able to, without bias,
effectively advise the Secretary to ensure that all actions by HHS are in accordance with the law,” wrote Senator Warren. “I ask that you provide answers to my questions so that the Senate and the American people can better understand how you plan to carry out this role.”
###
Next Article Previous Article