Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass) on Thursday will press West Virginia state Senator Mike Stuart (R) about how his beliefs on subjects like vaccines and abortion will influence how he doubtlessly serves as basic counsel of the Division of Well being and Human Providers.
Stuart supported a state invoice that might have allowed for exemptions in West Virginia’s college vaccination coverage. He has additionally referred to himself as “unapologetically pro-life” and has been proud to be endorsed by West Virginians for Life in a publish on X.
President Donald Trump tapped Stuart to function the highest lawyer for the company in February, and the Senate Finance Committee is scheduled to contemplate his nomination Thursday at 10 a.m.
If confirmed, Stuart might be chargeable for giving authorized recommendation to Well being and Human Providers (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Deputy Secretary Jim O’Neil, who’ve already instituted quite a few modifications to the company, like sweeping layoffs and firings.
“Your interpretation of the law plays a critical role in ensuring that HHS is achieving its goal of ‘protecting the health of all Americans,'” Warren wrote in a letter to Stuart shared first with The Hill.
“But given your ideological views, zealous 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.”
Within the letter, Warren asks Stuart to return to the listening to with written solutions to greater than 70 questions on vaccines, abortion entry, staffing cuts, Medicaid and the implementation of the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.”
“HHS carries an enormous responsibility as its services and programming touch millions of American lives every day,” Warren’s letter reads. “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.”
