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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack Spear. President Donald Trump's pick to be Health and Human Services Secretary was on Capitol Hill today for the start of his confirmation hearings. Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee seemingly largely supportive of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., while Democrats posed tough questions about his past disavowals of vaccines. Here's NPR's Lexi Shapiro.
Throughout the three-and-a-half-hour hearing, Kennedy sought to assure Democratic senators that he supports vaccines and would not discourage their use as HHS secretary. But Democrats repeatedly confronted Kennedy with his past statements calling vaccines unsafe and ineffective. Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse told Kennedy he needs to dig out of a pretty deep hole.
We've just had a measles case in Rhode Island, the first since 2013. And frankly, you frighten people.
Kennedy has pushed misleading claims about vaccines for decades, including as the chair of an anti-vaccine nonprofit. Lexi Shapiro, NPR News, the Capitol.
President Trump has signed a sweeping executive action that aims to expand school choice. It would free up federal money for families to use toward private schools. NPR's Janaka Mehta reports.
Yes. to come up with a plan for how military families could use money from the Department of Defense to send their kids to a school of their choosing.
EdChoice, a group that advocates for school choice, celebrated the move, while the National Education Association, one of the country's largest teachers' unions, says it's an overreach to, quote, steal money from public school students to fund private school vouchers. Janaki Mehta, NPR News.
President Trump speaking on the campaign trail last year talked about imposing up to 60 percent tariffs against Chinese goods, threatening to renew a trade war. Trump has not indicated exactly what level of tariffs might be levied against China, though. The Federal Reserve has wrapped up its two-day meeting in Washington, opting to stand pat on short-term interest rates.
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