
Episode 4230: The Hearing Of RFK Jr. Cont. ...
Loading summary
Senator Lankford
Will you freeze federal funds for community health centers the way the current administration has done?
Bobby Kennedy
The White House has made clear. And no funds are going to be denied to any American for benefits. Listen, any program.
Senator Lankford
Do you know what happens at community health centers? Those are direct.
Bobby Kennedy
Are you talking about the Indian health centers?
Senator Lankford
No, I'm talking about community health centers across the country.
Bobby Kennedy
I understand that. I mean, I strongly support.
Senator Lankford
So you're going to excuse Indian health centers, which is good, but others are not. They're going to get their funds frozen.
Bobby Kennedy
I strongly support community health centers, as does the President.
Senator Lankford
So does that mean you're not going to freeze the funding that is currently frozen?
Bobby Kennedy
The White House is clear that none of that funding is supposed to be frozen.
Senator Lankford
Sir, the direct payments are different than how the government operates. We fund the federal government down to community health centers. As a former governor, there's lots and lots of state programs that are related to health care that come from the federal government. They come down to the state, then it goes to local programs. All of those don't directly pay out a dollar at a time, but they come from federal funding. They are all. Even though they keep changing the guidance on a minute by minute basis based upon 9:45 or 10:30 or 10:45, whatever time it is today, those funds are still frozen. Sir, I just honestly, I want to give you a fair shot, but I don't feel like. I don't feel like you approach this job with the knowledge and candidly, your willingness, not willingness not to commit, try to recommend to the President to make sure these funds are unfrozen and that people's lives were at stake is a very disappointing answer. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Senator Tuberville
Senator Lankford, Mr. Chairman.
Senator Whitehouse
Thank you.
Senator Tuberville
Mr. Kennedy. It's good to see you again. We had some great visits in my office. We've done some follow up calls to be able to go through. You and I have talked about 100 different issues and backgrounds and things. You've been able to address a lot of them today and just different questions to be able to clear up social media rumors and the things that are out there on it. So I do appreciate that. We've talked about pharmacy benefit managers, we've talked about the nursing home rule Biden administration put down. We talked about your views on agriculture and commercial and row crop agriculture. We've talked about food issues and you made it very, very clear you're not going to tell Americans what to eat. But you do want Americans to know what they're eating. And I think that's a pretty fair perspective on that. I do want to talk to you about some areas that you and I have talked about as well. We have some disagreements, you and I, on the issue of life and when life begins on that. You've been very outspoken on that and we've had some good opportunities to be able to talk about that. Title 10 is specifically in the HHS area. This has been an area that has been interpreted for a long time. And President Trump in the first administration interpreted that rule to say that his administration will prohibit the performance, referral for or promotion of abortion as a part of the Title 10 program. He made that very clear in the first administration. Obviously, that's his decision to make again on that, on how he wants to handle that. And he's made a lot of public statements on that. The Biden administration not only reversed that, not only rescinded that rule, but they went one step, the other direction. In my state in Oklahoma, as you and I have talked about, the Biden administration cut off funding to the state of Oklahoma for AIDS testing, for breast cancer screening and for other areas of poverty health care. Because my state didn't promote abortion. It wouldn't provide if my state wouldn't promote abortion in the state, we got cut off for federal funds for AIDS testing and for other things. My simple question to you is, how are you going to handle title 10? On that. I saw how President Biden handled that in the punitive measures that came on my state. For those that are in rural health care, how are you going to handle.
Bobby Kennedy
I'm going to support President Trump's policies on Title 10. I agree with President Trump that every abortion is a tragedy. I agree with him that we cannot be a moral nation if we have 1.2 million abortions a year. I agree with them that the states should control abortion. President Trump has told me that he wants to end late term abortions and he wants to protect conscious exemptions and that he wants to end federal funding for abortions here or abroad. That's title 10. I'm going to I serve at the pleasure of the president. I'm going to implement his policies.
Senator Tuberville
Thank you for that. President Biden, when he came in, immediately closed down the Office of Civil Rights and Conscience Protections within hhs. There's a statement that's come out recently that he's going to reopen that office again to be able to protect the civil rights of Americans. One of the things that Javier Becerra did immediately when he came into HHS was conscience protections for medical professionals that were being Compelled against their conscience to perform medical procedures that violated their conscience. Javier Becerra stepped in immediately into HHS and withdrew that and said no. The federal government will tell you what you believe about these issues. You don't have conscience protections anymore.
Steve Bannon
Okay. I'm here with Senator Tommy. Tuberville's in the neighborhood. Dropped by. Are you feeling any better, Coach?
Senator Whitehouse
Yeah, yeah, a lot better. It's been seven days. You know, I think everybody got it.
Steve Bannon
Going around is bad, bad, bad, bad. I don't want to say it's a Chinese bioweapon, but maybe I'll ask Kennedy that question first off. Your assessment, Bobby Kennedy, They've been coming after him pretty hard this morning.
Senator Whitehouse
Yeah, he got a little angry early and he probably should have. And let the Democrats know he's going to fight back because he needs to fight back.
Steve Bannon
What do you mean by that?
Senator Whitehouse
Well, you know, they're just trying to upset him about things that. That's not true about the vaccine and, and, you know, he's made his statements all clear. It's not.
Steve Bannon
He came by and visited you one on one.
Senator Whitehouse
Oh, yeah.
Steve Bannon
What was your. What's your takeaway?
Senator Whitehouse
Awesome. And he's doing it for the right reasons.
Steve Bannon
What do you mean?
Senator Whitehouse
Well, I mean, he's doing it to help and he understands the whole picture. You know, he's not going to run the show, Steve, by itself. He's got four or five people. The CDC director, nih, all those people. But he'll set the scenario. Now, I've told my colleagues on the right the worst mistake we would ever make is not confirm this guy because he brought millions of young people to the. To the table for us as Republicans that weren't going to vote for us early. And they believe in health and the future of the country and better food and all those kind of things and.
Steve Bannon
So make America healthy again.
Senator Whitehouse
That whole move. Exactly. The whole thing. And look at the guy they had the last four years. Most people, 99% of the people in the country don't know. Didn't know who the HHS director was for Biden and he was a damn lawyer that lived in California.
Steve Bannon
California.
Senator Whitehouse
California. Terrible. That lived there. He didn't even work here. Yeah.
Steve Bannon
So didn't come back.
Senator Whitehouse
Yeah, it's humble. He just took paycheck.
Steve Bannon
Right.
Senator Whitehouse
So didn't make one decision. You know, me being on the Health Committee. I think he came one time to a hearing and was just God awful, you know, just there was.
Steve Bannon
Tell the audience. Why is the Health committee not the. Not the organizing Committee for hhs. Why is he at Finance?
Senator Whitehouse
They. Well, he's in Finance. It comes to us tomorrow. Okay, but they will bring him out of committee for some reason. Now I've asked that same question.
Steve Bannon
Why should I not start Health day one and then Finance?
Senator Whitehouse
It should be that. It should be that.
Steve Bannon
You're with me on that.
Senator Whitehouse
But for some reason that it was passed in the rules in the Senate years ago that the Finance would bring out because I think there's so much money involved in hhs. So they wanted the Finance Committee to have the final say.
Steve Bannon
Okay, is tomorrow going to be just because tomorrow we get two of Bobby. We also have Tulsi and Cash. Tomorrow's game day.
Senator Whitehouse
Yeah, it'll be, it'll be nonstop tomorrow. And of course you'll have the, the same crazies after, after rfk, but of course they're after Patel and Tulsi big time. I mean, they, they are, they're looking for blood.
Steve Bannon
Before I get to that, I want to go back to how does a senator from the great state of Alabama, I would argue the railhead of MAGA be supportive of RFK Jr. Who a lot of people would say is a screaming left wing Democrat.
Senator Whitehouse
Well, because of his policies of what I told you earlier. I've got a 30 and a 28 year old, two boys, and this time last year they were on RFK side. He was still running for president and they were on his side for president because a podcast. Dad, you have to listen to this podcast. You know, quit getting your news from some of these newspapers that you read or Fox News or cnn.
Steve Bannon
You could see it then, your sons could see it.
Senator Whitehouse
You have to start listening to podcasts where people actually lay their soul on the line to tell exactly what they believe.
Steve Bannon
Who's the senator?
Charlie Kirk
Hasan.
Steve Bannon
Let's, let's cut in for a second. Sorry, White House. Sorry. Yeah, let's cut in on Senator Whitehouse.
Senator Johnson
The question, recantation of what you have said on vaccinations, including a promise from you never to say vaccines aren't medically safe when they in fact are. And making indisputably clear that you support mandatory vaccinations against diseases where that will keep people safe. You're in that hole pretty deep. We've just had a measles case in Rhode island, the first since 2013, and frankly, you frighten people. Two, I want to air harms that Rhode island has experienced from a remorseless, senseless CMS bureaucracy. CMS has for years maintained a reimbursement system that the bureaucracy could never explain, never justify that persistently pays Rhode island providers less than neighboring Massachusetts and Connecticut providers. A differential of 23 and 26% in our regional healthcare market. The pending Ahead program can begin to remedy this, at least for value based care, and it must. There has to be payment parity in the region. Rhode Island's health care system is bleeding out because we aren't paid what neighboring hospitals and doctors are paid. And the one act CMS took on this years ago was to make it worse. The CMS bureaucracy has also attacked one of the best accountable care organizations in the country, Rhode Island's Integra family Doctors tried to throw them off the shared savings program because they said Integra years ago briefly fell 137 patients short of the 5,000 patients that ACOs need.
Steve Bannon
We're going to come back with Senator Toll.
Senator Johnson
GMS wouldn't go.
Steve Bannon
As soon as Bobby Kennedy responds, let me know, we're going right back to it.
Senator Whitehouse
Don't you just love these dissertations? It's a damn hearing. Ask him a question, let him answer it. They're giving the question and the answer. It's really unfair.
Steve Bannon
Well, but they have seven minutes I think on this round and we've been clocking the Democrats take about three and a half or four minutes on the speech, the mini speech and position themselves and don't give Kennedy any time to answer.
Senator Whitehouse
They have, they're talking points from big pharma and so they got to get.
Steve Bannon
That in tell in the old days it was the liberals that were against big pharma. This shift, you've seen it here. I keep saying MSNBC, 80% of the ads in primetime are big pharma. There would be a test pattern. How big does big pharma own the Democratic Party?
Senator Whitehouse
Well, first of all, if we would ban drug advertisements on television, probably like we should, there would be an uprising because you'd have.
Steve Bannon
Well, first of all, you'd have 70 Republican Senate seats if they didn't have. How far down the road are we to getting that passed? I'm a huge advocate. Bobby Kennedy's a.
Senator Whitehouse
It's been talked about. But at the end of the day you've got a, you've got several on the right that are taking a lot of money from big pharma.
Steve Bannon
You know, big pharma, they own the lobbyists, the law firms. How powerful are they in this hospital, in this city? How powerful are they?
Senator Whitehouse
Oh, huge.
Steve Bannon
If you had to rank order defense industrial complex, big tech industrial complex from Silicon Valley and big Pharma rank them. What's the, what's the most powerful? The second and the third?
Senator Whitehouse
Big Pharma.
Steve Bannon
Big pharma is number one.
Senator Whitehouse
There's no doubt because it touches so many people. You know, big tech is just now, 10 years from now. We probably have a different attitude toward that. But you know, big pharma touches everything in almost every committee. You know, that's going to have something to do with either drugs or medical care. You know, I was in a VA hearing yesterday about, you know, our veterans and healthcare. We spend billions and billions and it's getting worse. But you know, do your colleagues ever.
Steve Bannon
Get on you or leadership ever get on you for being so plain spoken?
Senator Whitehouse
I wouldn't listen to them anyway. You know, it's, it is, it is what it is. I mean I, I just tell what I see and what I hear.
Steve Bannon
So what talk to me about. We're going to go back to Bobby Kennedy as soon as he's answering. When the dissertation. They're going to have a time to answer. Still, still asking the question. He's still going? Okay, yeah, he's still going. Okay, yeah, we'll go. Right. Tulsi and in cash. They're obsessed with both of these. And Tulsi is supposedly on the bubble. Right. Your thoughts?
Senator Whitehouse
Yeah, he's jumping in.
Steve Bannon
Okay, let's go to Bobby Kennedy.
Bobby Kennedy
His answer of tyrannical insensate bureaucracies and stupid roles. And I will work with you to make CMS responsive to the needs of Rhode island and to remedy those disparities that you talk about. I am familiar with the Integra health plan and it is the template for what we ought to be doing is a value based plan. And I look forward to you to making sure that we, we create pilot programs like this. Unfortunately, Mr. Chairman, used around the country.
Senator Johnson
Unfortunately, Mr. Chairman, one of the things I've learned in my tenure in the Senate is that a nominee saying that they're willing to work with me amounts to exactly zero. We need to get this fixed. Thank you.
Charlie Kirk
Big victory on the 5th of November. Now the work can finally start on the big issues facing the country. One of the biggest is the national debt and the deficits that drive it. Hey, you think the country's broke? The country is broke. We're just printing money to keep this house of cards going. The strategy remains the same for you. You got to diversify, diversify your savings. That's why buy gold from Birch Gold. So many things are out of your control, out of the President's control. It's important to have a safe haven for your savings. Birch Gold group, my gold company will help you convert an IRA or 401k into an IRA into physical gold. Let me repeat that. Convert your IRA or 401k into an IRA in physical gold. And the best news? It doesn't cost you a penny. Text band into 989-898 get your free info kit. Plus right now through Black Friday you receive a free 1oz Silver Eagle for every $5,000 you purchase. Let me repeat that, a free 1oz Silver Eagle for EVERY $5,000 purchase. Protect your savings with Birch Gold text Bannon to 989-898 and claim your eligibility for your free silver Today I want to warn you of a huge change that could be coming to our money in our bank accounts. First, think back to 9 11, shortly after the government pushed through the Patriot Act. This gave the government power to spy on innocent Americans by monitoring our phone and email and tracking our movement across the Internet. Now Jim Rickards, editor of the independent financial newsletter, Strategic Intelligence and New York Times best selling author, is warning about a coming event that could elevate this governmental surveillance to a terrifying new level. In fact, some of the guests I've had on the War Room believe that the government will soon expand their powers to track our every move. If we say the wrong things on social media, donate to the wrong causes, buy firearms, or even vote maga, the government may be able to shut us out of our bank accounts. I can't say for sure if this will happen, but it's an interesting and dire warning. Fortunately, Jim Rickards, an American patriot and friend of mine, has made it his mission to educate us on what he believes is coming and how to protect yourself from from the possibility of programmable money. Watch Jim's warning video now before it's censored like I've been in the past. Go to Rickards war room.com that's Rickards war room.com now to see the video. It's obvious the unthinkable continues. Most Americans know something is very, very wrong. The people in charge keep telling you that everything's fine and to stop noticing, but you know better. That's why self reliant folks are investing in emergency food storage and you should too. My patron Supply, the nation's largest emergency preparedness company are the ones you can trust. Go to my patronsupply.com and secure their best selling 3 month emergency food kits. Each contains tasty breakfasts, lunches and dinners averaging over 2000 calories per day. My Patriot Supply also sells solar generators, gravity powered water filters, off grid room heaters for when the power goes out. They also sell heirloom seeds and survival gear. Order by 3pm and your items shipped that same day and arrive quickly on your doorstep in unmarked boxes. Go to my patriotsupply.com today. Hope is not a plan. My Patriot Supply is a plan. Time is running out to prepare for what's coming. My patriotsupply.com go there today. Action action action.
Senator Whitehouse
Well I guess at that point then.
Bobby Kennedy
We will move on to Senator Dades.
Steve Bannon
Mr. Chairman thank you Mr. Kennedy.
Senator Barrasso
I'm glad to see you here this morning.
Steve Bannon
Right there. White House White House was so long he never got the vaccine answer.
Senator Whitehouse
No, no he just wanted to make the statement his narrative over and you know he's told pretty much what to say and it's pretty much scripted and the whole side of the Democrats we don't get together as Republicans and say okay what direction do we want to take here?
Steve Bannon
Oh you guys don't you don't sit down. The staff don't sit down or it's all independent.
Senator Whitehouse
All independent. Talk about your state and what you believe in. Ask the questions pertaining to your state but you can tell Pete Hexith all orchestrated.
Steve Bannon
Let's talk about that. Well it's well they talked you know Hexith, Rubio, others came out with kind of in their opening statements and what they had was substance Pete's revolutionary military affairs and instilling the warrior ethos back into the Pentagon Rubio at the end of the post war international rules based order on Hexith the harridans didn't ask any questions about that. They're attacking him on the personal foibles all day long. Was that coordinated and organized?
Senator Whitehouse
100% and it was mostly the ladies on the on the armed services that went after him personally and it was.
Steve Bannon
Why does the Democrats have nine women? It seemed like on, on why they have all the women on armed services. What is that about?
Senator Whitehouse
I couldn't tell you but they do. They've got a lot more than we have.
Steve Bannon
Does that strike you as a little odd?
Senator Whitehouse
Well yeah but if you look at all Duckworth was military, Gillibrand was military Rose and I don't know about her the young lady from Michigan that just got in CIA.
Steve Bannon
Yeah Slotkin.
Senator Whitehouse
Yeah. So I don't know, you know it's hard to keep up with our what'd.
Steve Bannon
You think about their what did you think about their questions?
Senator Whitehouse
Well it was just a personal attack, you know they wanted to, they wanted to make a point of can he do this job with all the personal problems that he has. And it was great that his wife stood up with him. It was just unfortunate that, you know, late in the day before the vote, you know, this sister in law comes out with some.
Steve Bannon
Right.
Senator Whitehouse
And then the, the sister said, I don't know what she's talking about. And we had one senator, I think that was a Republican senator, was involved in some of that. And so.
Steve Bannon
But no, we worked, our audience worked the phones on that Friday afternoon because it looked like it could be on the bubble right there.
Senator Whitehouse
Right. It kind of came down the last vote. But you asked about Patel and, but.
Steve Bannon
Hold on, I'll go back to Hexus for a second. You have been the leader in the Senate of saying, hey, this DEI thing's out of control, the war fighting's out of control. We don't know how to fight anymore. You stood in the breach for 18 months and took incoming. We'd have you in here, man. And the people were coming after you hard. The left.
Senator Whitehouse
Right. You held up everything well until the travel abortion.
Steve Bannon
Right. Until they were, well, straight to be straightforward. You were also. Your observation is that you were not totally impressed with the quality of what you were seeing coming up at field grade officers. Tell me about Hegseth. Is Hegseth going to get the job done here? Are you confident of that?
Senator Whitehouse
That was my first question. We have to have somebody closer to the age of the war fighter, somebody that has recently been in the war fighting, not somebody that's been out of it as a general, been out of the. Any kind of contact with the recruiting in the last 30 years. We have to have new blood, new ideas. And he was perfect for that. And he is. He will speak his piece and he'll tell you what he believes in. He's not going to change his mind. And I've liked the way he went about going to the other senators. Now, he didn't go to a lot of Democrats because as he'll tell you a lot of them, when you know.
Steve Bannon
The difficulty in stepping into a football program and changing a culture and turn around and as monuments that is for us that love college football, when you compare it to the Pentagon, it's relatively, you know, it's at a certain scale. You're asking Pete Hegseth, right, With, with a lack of organizational ability, you know, training to step into the big biggest bureaucracy in the world that is adamantly opposed to America first, adamantly opposed to getting any control of Cost. And you're asking Pete to step in and really change around the biggest industrial complex in the world to get back to America first policies and war fighters. Can he do that?
Senator Whitehouse
Well, my example was exactly what you said, Pete, you're going, you're taking over a huge football team. And right now the Democrats have created such division within ranks, transgenders, gays, women, you've made some points about that you're going to have to talk your way into people trusting you if you're going to get this job. But he understood that he's got to take out the dei, the woke the social justice and bring people together. That it's not about black, white, gays, lesbian, it's not about that. It's about building a war machine that's going to fight for our country. And he, he, he is doing that as we speak. He's trying to pull that all together because if he went in and didn't change any of that scenario, he'd be out of there in a year.
Steve Bannon
You mean change the culture?
Senator Whitehouse
You gotta change the culture and how people think. But the war fighter is actually on his side. You know, I've told you before, generals had told me, you know, coach, we're spending more money on transgender restrooms than we are covering up our $100 million airplane.
Steve Bannon
Okay, you just told this audience that, that in the three big industrial complexes in this country, that big pharma controls us. More of the next is, Is the second one the military industrial complex or big tech?
Senator Whitehouse
I think you can put those hand in hand.
Steve Bannon
Hand in hand. They're inextricably linked.
Senator Whitehouse
Yeah, they're, they're, they're.
Steve Bannon
This is why Amazon and all those guys are all over Pentagon City right across the street.
Senator Whitehouse
They're all moving into the military complex.
Steve Bannon
We got it. We got to respond. Let's go back to a Democrat. Return to Senator Tuberville in a moment. Concerns I have, and just briefly on Medicaid. States share in the funding of Medicaid. Millions of disabled children in this country are alive because of Medicaid. Millions of people with addiction in this country are in recovery because of the services provided to them by Medicaid. And millions of chronically ill people who until Medicaid expansion was enacted, who couldn't get health care and therefore couldn't work because they were too sick, got health care through Medicaid expansion, then went back to work and now they're on private insurance. So those are some facts about Medicaid that you might want to brush up on. Now. I'm also extremely concerned about your endorsement of radical fringe conspiracy that if implemented at HSI Doge. And there's a 900 billion. So Pete's got two. He's got the cultural issues of turning people to war fighters from all the politically correct dei. He's driving that. But then you have this massive bureaucracy of the arms makers and one of the most profitable businesses in the country. You just approved a $900 billion NDAA, which I still don't think gets to the heart of the Chinese Communist Party taking down the CCP effort with $900 billion. Has the doge guys come to see you and walk through what? Because if you don't touch defense, you're not going to get any social programs and you'll never get the ability to talk to the American people about a touch entitlements years from now. Somebody has to. And I realize President Trump does all this stuff about a rearmament program, but it's $900 billion with nobody around the world pitching in. President Trump just said the other day, you got to pay 5% GDP. These guys all passed out, right? They don't. They don't pay the 2% they committed to. I'd say in the 2%. It's all lies when you look at it. It's all women's health care and green New Deal and, you know, green scams, etc. They're not paying for combat and they're not paying for interoperability. They're not paying for joint maneuvers. Not none of it. So as the second part of the culture of defense, could you see Elon or those working with your committee to actually say we got to look at this and we have to change the mentality of the arms manufacturers?
Senator Whitehouse
Yeah. Well, the only way they're going to be able to get anything done, especially with the armed services, is they have to go through committee. DOGE has to. Once, once they get everybody in place. Now, there's a lot of people, you know, the deputy DECEP and all those people have to be put in place.
Steve Bannon
Have to be confirmed. They're not confirmed.
Senator Whitehouse
I mean, we're probably a month away before any. Anything like that happens. But, you know, we say a month away.
Steve Bannon
But memory serves me that on March 20th of this year, the United States government runs out of money again.
Senator Whitehouse
Oh, yeah.
Steve Bannon
So are we going to do. And I saw the thing. Is it going to be a year cr? I saw Josh Hawley, you know, he was on here last night. Is it a year cr? Are we going to have Appropriations Bills is what's the heads up for the American people. What's going to happen?
Senator Whitehouse
Well, I heard yesterday for the first time they were talking about that Susan Collins, who's appropriations chair, they were starting to talk about a year cr. I can't imagine us doing.
Steve Bannon
You mean a year cr. They're running that up the flagpole and see if Tommy Coverville salutes right now and see if you're on board of that.
Senator Whitehouse
Steve, we haven't done a budget for 25 yet. We have. We need to be working on a budget for 26. We got two or one reconciliation bills.
Steve Bannon
I actually had this conversation with a senior member of the administration this morning. Say the 25 budget. Like we haven't done that yet. And it's like that train's left the station because we're hurtling down towards, here's my point, one or two reconciliations bills, a CR that you have to. The government runs out of money on the 20th. We don't have the individual appropriations bills run out. You got the DOGE guys here, the OMB guys here. When is somebody going to put the whip hand of this and say we got to get organized. And look, this has to be a critical path instead of piecemeal Susan Collins saying something and somebody else leaking something. This is a massively complex and if we're going to get our arms around spending and cuts, it has to have some organization to it. Do you think that's going to happen or we're just going to stumble through this?
Senator Whitehouse
Well, most of it's going to have to come from the White House. This is how we're going to do it. And then President Trump, in his credit, he's been meeting with the House, he's meeting with us next week as senators, bring us all together.
Steve Bannon
But hang on, but we just had him live and look, we are hammering on this every day. Two reconciliations bills, if you have one big, it's going to be an omnibus, it won't be until August. It'll be, we think the process will be a disaster. President Trump, who hasn't backed our play on this, he wants one beautiful bill. He goes to Doral and gives a great talk and he's in details on policy but never mentions. And I hear he tells these guys, he says, you figure it out. So the White House, at least right now is saying it's back to the Senate and back to the House. And we hear guys in the Senate are saying Lindsey Graham and these guys commit that they could actually have a draft of the one for Immigration for the border for energy sometime in mid March. But I think the White House essentially said, guys, you tell us what you want to do.
Senator Whitehouse
Well, a lot of what's happening right now with all these nominations, they're dragging it out where we can't really get anything done. We have got to get more people confirmed.
Steve Bannon
But the Democrats, no omb, we just got treasury last night. So Russville votes not there and I hear Russ votes and the vote may not come to Sunday or Monday. And none of the deputy secretaries of treasury at defense. There are dozens and dozens of people that have to be confirmed besides the top guy, right?
Senator Whitehouse
Yeah, they. Because they got to be in on the conversation. It is a massive undertaking. The Democrats left this country in such a mess because of debt limit, you know, the obviously no. 25 budget. They want to do omnibus. And they said, well, if you don't want to do that, fine, we'll just do a CR to March and just put us in much, put President Trump in a Biden.
Steve Bannon
The biggest hawks that we have on deficit, the House Freedom Caucus.
Senator Whitehouse
Right.
Steve Bannon
We know those guys very closely. They put out a proposal to the president. They sent a memo last week and they say in the memo they've got all these cuts they want to do. And I keep telling guys, don't give me 10 years. I want to see this year, I want to see next year. This is a turnaround. They give a proposal in the debt ceiling that says they will agree the president kick it past the 26 midterm, which we hate, but kick it into January 27th and lift $4 trillion. So I do the math and go, gosh, that's 2 trillion deficit this year and 2 trillion deficit next year. And CBO just said the other day, $2 trillion. So just to have a frank conversation with the American. And those are the biggest deficit hawks we got. Everybody else wants to do unlimited.
Senator Whitehouse
Right.
Steve Bannon
Are we telling the American people that essentially we can't get control of this thing and that we we're going to have $2 trillion minimum deficits the foreseeable future? And we're just going to figure out. Scott Besson is going to have to figure out some way to finance 38 trillion, 40 trillion, 42 trillion. Is that what is that where we are?
Senator Whitehouse
Yeah. The people driving the car right now are the ones you just talked about in the House. You know, the Freedom Caucus. They're going to make, they're going to decide what's going to happen in the next couple of years, whether we're going to cut or we're, we're going to have a deficit of $50 trillion here in about 10 years.
Steve Bannon
Why do you say that? Why you tell the audience that? I believe that because they're not going.
Senator Whitehouse
To change their mind. I mean there's a lot of people in the Senate and some people in the House will change their mind. These guys are set. I mean they are, they're going to.
Steve Bannon
Fight and, and they're in districts that the people will back them in this.
Senator Whitehouse
Yeah, people are, people are going to back them and most of them are in the south.
Steve Bannon
What about if President Trump says, hey, I need more leeway, I need more on the debt ceiling. Debt ceiling. And I want to look. President Trump strategically is talking about a hemispheric defense from, from the Panama Canal which he's we're taking back. The Chinese are actually leaving right now all the way to Greenland and the Arctic. The hemispheric defense. He also talked to mention of the day Iron Dome. Now let's assume that that can technically work. That's another two or three trillion dollars. He also says he wants a stronger military. In a military that's up leveled from weapons. We're at $900 billion. That doesn't include the two and a half trillion dollars to build Iron Dome. If we can build it. Where does it stop? On defense spending.
Senator Whitehouse
And we're spending 2 trillion upgrading our Minuteman missiles.
Steve Bannon
Okay, exactly.
Senator Whitehouse
They're 50 years old.
Steve Bannon
50 years old.
Senator Whitehouse
Yeah.
Steve Bannon
Where does it stop? And people look to you as kind of the, your, your credentials as a hawk are unquestioned.
Senator Whitehouse
Right.
Steve Bannon
And common sense. Your dad was a D Day. Your dad was a dog. Came up shortly after was a tank guy for, for Patton. People know where you are, but you're also prudent about the budget. What do we got to do? Because if we don't get our hands around defense, you're never going to cut discretionary and you're never going to eventually have a conversation. The American people, people bat entitlement because they're going to sit there and go screw you. You're out of control right now. When can we get have a rational conversation with people who want the defense of this country and are patriots and have served in the military and are come from families to say this is what we have to do.
Senator Whitehouse
And you didn't bring it up that I live in a state that we're almost all military. We have a thousand defense contractors in Huntsville, Alabama, Redstone Arsenal. And it is. We employ a lot of people. But we all also understand that as we cut. Steve, there's not going to be a lot of wars like you're seeing right now in Ukraine. I mean, it's going to be missile wars. It's going to be, it's not going to be land fault AI.
Steve Bannon
And with missiles and drones and cyber.
Senator Whitehouse
Warfare, we're behind on ships, but ships aren't going to last too long with all these long range missiles that are being invented as we speak. We're into drones now. And so.
Steve Bannon
Well, this is the revolution in military affairs. This is what actually Rumsfeld wanted to try to do 20 years ago before he got taken away to the war on terror. Is that something serious that people are thinking? Because you don't see in the defense budget. I love the Navy. I'm a naval guy. And his Trump's strategy is a naval strategy. Very Mahanian. They're talking about another $2 trillion upgrade to the surface warfare and fast attack submarines.
Senator Whitehouse
Yeah. Because of China and you know, and because they're building and we think we have to build and we probably do. I've listened to these Indo Pacific commanders for the last four years and you know, they're very, very understanding how far we're behind in China. We fought these 20 year wars. We didn't do anything with the Navy. Terrible. Yeah, it was. We put them in the Navy.
Steve Bannon
Back burner. Put them.
Senator Whitehouse
So we're going to have to upgrade the Navy and President Trump's exactly right.
Steve Bannon
Okay. This is a deeper conversation. I know you got to bounce. Your staff's giving a stink eye right now. Thank you for doing this. Thank your staff for setting it up real quickly. Tulsi Gabbard and Cash tomorrow. What are you looking for? And how can this audience help support the President's nominees?
Senator Whitehouse
Well, call your senators. I'm telling you, that helps. You know, light those phones up to your senators. Both of them. There's two in each state. I don't care if you think that they're going to get a vote or not.
Steve Bannon
And the local office is important too, right. Not just here at the thing. They, when they get a call in the local office, they pay particular attention.
Senator Whitehouse
Yeah, yeah. And here's the deal about these three. They're out of the box. Okay. And I think that the people across the country want this. They want people that are, that are. Have a different idea of how this country should run. RFK Jr. Cash Patel. I mean, here's a guy that, you know, you know, our FBI is out of control. It's almost extinct in terms of people.
Steve Bannon
In Alabama would support a major restructuring of the so you got the patrons in Alabama say I'm all in.
Senator Whitehouse
You got to remember half of the FBI is in Huntsville, Alabama now. We spent $3 billion building new buildings for cyber of FBI and all those things, you know, over the last, what, five years. So yeah, there Tulsa Yabbard is perfect because she's out of the box. They don't like her because she went to Syria and some of these things. Come on, folks.
Steve Bannon
Is she on top of the, they're leaking that she's not on top of the material. Do you find that she's on top of the material?
Senator Whitehouse
Oh, yeah. We talked to her several times, talked her on the phone. She is.
Steve Bannon
She has your stamp of approval.
Senator Whitehouse
Oh, yeah, 100%.
Steve Bannon
Because all the audience needs.
Senator Whitehouse
Yeah, because you look at the people that she's following. She's following people that are, that are totally different than she is. I mean in and she is very opinionated and I like that from somebody that's going to be over a television site. She's not going to be quiet. She don't speak out of what she thinks is good or bad.
Steve Bannon
Perfect. Senator Tuberville, by the way, your, your social media is at send Tuberville. We'll put this up. Sen. Your name Tuberville at that that's on Twitter.
Senator Whitehouse
Every time I come on your show, it just explodes. So we appreciate that.
Steve Bannon
We thank you. Well, you're, you're, you're a big favorite of this audience. They love you for your be straightforward with them. Thank you very much. Appreciate you. Let's go back to the hearing right now. Let's go ahead and cut right back to Bobby Kennedy.
Bobby Kennedy
Our 60% increase in Medicaid over the past four years is the biggest budget line now and it's growing faster than any other. And no other nation in the world has what we have here. No other nation has a chronic disease. We have the highest chronic disease burden of any country in the world. During COVID we had 16% of the COVID deaths in a country. We only have 4.2% of the world's population. We had a higher death count than any country in the world. And when CDC was asked why, he said it's because Americans are the sickest people on Earth. The average person who died from COVID American had 3.8 chronic diseases. This is an existential threat economically to our military, to our health, to our sense of well being, and it is a priority for President Trump. That's why he asked me run the agency and If I'm privileged be confirmed, that's exactly what I'll do.
Senator Warren
Senator Barrasso, thanks so much. Mr. Chairman, Mr. Kennedy, thank you for taking time to visit with me in my office prior to today's hearing to talk about a lot of the important issues affecting healthcare in my home state of Wyoming as well as the nation. I appreciate your willingness to serve our country. During our meeting, we discussed the challenges that healthcare providers and patients are facing in rural America. Financial obstacles facing rural hospitals, workforce shortages, issues of OB GYN and then new regulations that are painful that have come out of the Biden administration hurting our ability to provide nursing home staffing. So let me start, if I could, with rural hospitals and the closures of hospitals like that. There are a lot of challenges facing hospitals in rural communities. In frontier areas. We have 33 hospitals. In Wyoming, 26 are really located in areas locations often hard to get to. Weather impacts them. Six of the hospitals are at risk of closing, two are at immediate risk of closing. In the next two years, 10 have had to cut available services. And this is a concern of rural hospitals in both Republican and Democrat states. Either way, bipartisan, critical that the workforce challenges, financial challenges that we're facing are addressed. Can you commit to working with us on a plan to address the critical nationwide issue of rural health care?
Bobby Kennedy
Yes, Senator. And I would say that during my visits, I visited almost 60 senators of our and the most common unifying, I would say, issue among both Democrats and Republicans, there were two. One was PBM reform and the others were all hospitals. And you know, our nation made a commitment over 100 years ago to put up a hospital within 30 miles of every American. We generally succeeded in doing that. It's absolutely critical. It's life saving. And rural hospitals are closing at an extraordinary rate right now. They not only provide important health care for the localities, but also their economic drivers for local localities all over this country. President Trump is determined to end the hemorrhage of rural hospitals and he's asked me to do that through use of AI, through telemedicine, which these are innovations that I saw the other day. A Cleveland clinic has developed an AI nurse that you cannot distinguish from a human being that has diagnostics as good as any doctor. We can provide concierge care to every American in this country, even those the remote parts of Wyoming, Montana, Alaska, et cetera. We also have opportunities at HRSA and at the GME. Finally, live up to GMA's mission of providing personnel to rural hospitals. And I intend to use all of my power Because I've seen the priority that is given by both Democrats and Republicans on this committee. I intend to make that a priority if I'm privileged to be confirmed.
Senator Warren
I appreciate it. Because often with financial strains on a local hospital, one of the common services to be cut in rural hospitals and maternity services. So now we have women in Wyoming having to drive over 100 miles to access care. Thirteen counties in Wyoming don't have access to OB. And we're talking counties larger than the states of Vermont, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, Delaware, counties larger than those whole states. So will you commit to working with my office to find solutions to help address these specific maternal health challenges in rural America?
Bobby Kennedy
Yes, Senator, I look forward to it.
Senator Warren
Another issue we specifically spoke about with this harmful Biden administration rule that have really been bad for our rural nursing homes. And it's a rule that would triple the registered nurse requirements in nursing homes. This is going to lead. There just aren't enough registered nurses in our state to be able to comply with this. This would lead to nursing home closures across our state. Will you commit to working with me to fix this serious problem that it was a result of a rule that came out by the Biden administration who clearly doesn't understand rural America?
Bobby Kennedy
Yes, Senator, I think the rule was well intentioned. But as you've said, and I've heard from many rural senators, it will be a disaster for their states. Some of the nursing homes, these are staffing rules that require 24 hour staffing by medical professionals. Some of the nursing homes in rural areas simply do not have the available personnel or the economics to be able to do that. It will mean the closure of nursing homes in rural areas across our country, which means the parents, elderly parent, will be moved a great distance from the local community and their family. We know that the single greatest driver of high quality nursing home care is the involvement, the proximity of family members. When you move that nursing facility away from the community where the kids live, you're going to get much worse care. So the intention, although it was noble, was in reality for rural areas at least, it is going to be a disaster.
Senator Warren
Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Senator Whitehouse
Thank you.
Senator Barrasso
Senator Johnson, Mr. Kennedy, welcome. Thank you for being here. Thank you for your decades long advocacy for a clean environment for children's health. I can't say as I'm surprised by the hostility on the other side. I'm highly disappointed in it. I don't know if you remember when you called me up and you were contemplating setting your political differences aside, joining forces With President Trump on an area of agreement addressing chronic illness, trying to find the root cause of all these problems facing this nation. My first response was, bobby, this is an answer to my prayers. We need to get to the answers of this, but even more, we need to heal and unify this divided nation. I'm not necessarily the most optimistic guy because we've got enormous challenges facing this nation, but I thought, wow, here's somebody from the left, somebody I don't agree with on many issues, politically, coming together with President Trump and focusing on an area of agreement, something that the American people desperately want, finding out the answers. What has caused autism? What is causing chronic illness? Ms. Candy, I know. I think I've come to know what's in your heart. I think I know the personal and political price you've paid for this decision. I want to say publicly, I thank you for that. I truly appreciate what you're doing here. Can't we come together as a nation and do this? Can we do. Aren't you getting tired of this? I'm getting tired of this. So, again, Mr. Kennedy, I need to enter in the record, These are just 11 letters of support signed by 63,000 people, thousands of doctors from the American association, association of American Physicians and Surgeons, Independent Medical alliance, the North Carolina Physicians and Freedom Group, Governor Jeff Landry from Louisiana. These are Americans, nonpartisan. A lot of these people I know because I've advocated with you, a lot of them are Democrats. They put their political differences aside. So, Mr. Chairman, I'd like to enter this in the record.
Senator Whitehouse
Without objection.
Senator Barrasso
I also do want to. Mr. Kennedy, as long as I have you here, I've written over 70 oversight letters to the federal health agencies under the Biden administration. I've virtually gotten squat out of them. Okay, what I get is we get, for example, 50 pages of Anthony Fauci's emails. Redacted, by the way. The latest one was 17 pages. Instead of issuing a health alert on the myocarditis they knew was impacting young men early in 2021, instead of issuing an alert on the Health Alert network, they developed 17 pages of talking points. This was given to the public under a FOIA request. They had to go to court. They've got a new way of redacting. They don't black things out. They just give you white pages, so you don't even know what they have redacted. So, again, I've issued a subpoena now to cover the information I've requested in 70 oversight letters. My question to you is, as Secretary HHS. Will you honor these requests from Congress and will you make HHS transparent?
Bobby Kennedy
Yeah. My approach, hhs, as I said before, Senator, is radical transparency. Democrats and Republicans ought to be able to come in and get information that was generated at taxpayer expense that is owned by the American taxpayer. It shouldn't get redacted documents. Public health agencies should be transparent. If we want Americans to restore trust in the public health agencies, we need transparency. I want to say something about what you first said when I launched my campaign. It was about uniting Americans, Democrats and Republicans. There's no issue that should unite us more than this chronic health epidemic. There's no such thing as Republican children or Democratic children. These are our kids, 66% of them are damaged. I know what a healthy kid looks like because I had so many of them in my family. I didn't know anybody with a food allergy growing up. Peanut allergy. Why do five of my kids have allergies? Why are we seeing these explosions in diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, neurological diseases, depression, all these things that are related to toxic the environment. Why can't we just agree with each other to put differences about so many issues, intractable issues aside, and say we're going to end this. I don't think anybody is going to be able to do this like I have because of my peculiar experience, because I've litigated against these agencies. When you litigate against them, you get a PhD in corporate capture and how to unravel it. I've written six books about these agencies. I know a lot about them and I know how to fix it. And there's nobody who will fix it the way that I do because I'm not scared of vested interests. I don't care. I'm not here because I want a position or a job. I have a very good life and a happy family. This is something I don't need. I want to do this because we're going to fix it. And the other thing is we are attracting now a caliber of people to HHS like never before in history. And they're entrepreneurs, they're disruptors. They're innovators of immense talents that are walking away, many of them, from growing concerns. They're not coming there or position. They're coming there because they want to save our country. And they're from across the political spectrum. And all these Democrats are opposed to me for partisan issues. They used to be my friends agreed with me on all the environmental issues I've been working on for my whole career. Now they're against me. Because anything that President Trump does, any decision he makes, has to be lampooned, derided, discredited, marginalized, vilified.
Senator Whitehouse
We need to move on. Senator Warren.
Senator Tuberville
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. So, Mr. Kennedy, I want to start with something that I think you and I agree on, and that is that Big Pharma has too much power in Washington. You said that President Trump asked you to, quote, clean up corruption and conflicts. Sounds great. You've said that you will, quote, slam shut the revolving door between government agencies and the companies they regulate. That also sounds great. So here's an easy question. Will you commit that when you leave this job, you will not accept compensation from a drug company, a medical device company, a hospital system, or a health insurer for at least four years, including as a lobbyist or a board member.
Bobby Kennedy
Can you just repeat the last part of the question? Can I commit to that?
Senator Tuberville
You're not going to take money from drug companies in any way, shape or form?
Bobby Kennedy
Who, me?
Senator Tuberville
Yes, you.
Bobby Kennedy
Oh, yeah. I'm happy to commit to that.
Senator Tuberville
Good. That's what I figured. I said it's an easy question to start with, and I think you're right on this question.
Bobby Kennedy
I don't think any of them want to give me money, by the way.
Senator Tuberville
Let's keep going. You're right. Because to say yes, because every American has the right to know that every decision you make as our number one health officer is to help them and not to make money for yourself in the future. So I want to talk more about money. I'm looking at your paperwork right now. In the past two years, you've raked in $2.5 million from a law firm called Wisner Baum. You go online, you do commercials to encourage people to sign up with Wisner Baum to join lawsuits against vaccine makers. And for everyone who signs up, you personally get paid. And if they win their case, you get 10% of what they win. So if you bring in somebody who gets $10 million, you walk away with a million dollars. Now, you just said that you want the American people to know you can't be bought. Your decisions won't depend on how much money you could make in the future. You won't go to work for a drug company after you leave hhs, but you and I both know there's another way to make money. So, Mr. Kennedy, will you also agree that, that you won't take any compensation from any lawsuits against drug companies while you are secretary and for four years afterwards?
Bobby Kennedy
Well, I'll certainly commit to that. While I'M secretary, but I do want to clarify something because you're making me sound like a shill. I put together that case, I did the Science Day presentation of the judge on that case to get it into Courtney.
Senator Tuberville
Mr. Kennedy, it's just a really simple question. You've taken in $2.5 million. I want to know if you will commit right now that not only will you not go to work for drug companies, you won't go to work suing the drug companies and taking your rake out of that while you're a secretary and for four years after.
Bobby Kennedy
It's just I'll commit. It's not taking any fees from drug companies while I'm secretary.
Senator Tuberville
I, I, I'm asking about fees from suing drug companies. Will you agree not to do that?
Bobby Kennedy
You're asking me to not sue drug companies and I'm not going to agree to that.
Senator Tuberville
As much as you want, I'm not.
Bobby Kennedy
Going to agree to not sue drug companies or anybody.
Senator Tuberville
So let's do a quick count here of how as secretary of hhs, if you get confirmed, you could influence every one of those lawsuits. Well, let me start the list. You could publish your anti vaccine conspiracies, but this time on US Government letterheads. Something a jury might be impressed by.
Bobby Kennedy
You could appoint people on the HBC.
Senator Tuberville
Vaccine panel who share your anti vax views and let them do your dirty work. You could tell the CDC vaccine panel to remove a particular vaccine from the vaccine schedule. You could remove vaccines from special compensation programs which would open up manufacturers to mass torts. You could make more injuries eligible for compensation even if there is no causal evidence. You could change vaccine court processes to make it easier to bring junk lawsuits. You could turn over FDA data to your friends at the law firm and they could use it however it benefited them.
Bobby Kennedy
You.
Senator Tuberville
You could change vaccine labeling. You could change vaccine information rules. You could change which claims are compensated in the vaccine injury.
Steve Bannon
Okay, Stephen K. Bannon war room. We're going to shift over to Charlie Kirk. They're going to be watching us. Five o'clock tonight scheduled. Meghan Kelly, Natalie Winters from the White House, Kerry Lake. We're going to be packed this afternoon. We'll see you back here live, 5pm Eastern Standard Time.
Charlie Kirk
For over 10 years, Patriot Mobile has been America's only Christian conservative wireless provider, standing behind their service and the values of their company. They're an example of putting the cause ahead of profits. And that's why I'm proud to partner with them right now. You can either get their every Friday Matters Special Today Patriot Mobile is giving away a brand new smartphone when you make the switch. Patriot Mobile offers exceptional nationwide coverage giving you access to all all three major networks. Let me repeat that giving you access to all three major networks without your dollars funding the left. When you switch to Patriot Mobile, you're supporting free speech, religious freedom, the sanctity of Life, the Second Amendment and so much more. Their 100% US based customer service team makes switching easy. Keep your number and for a limited time get a free smartphone. Go to patriot mobile.com that's all one word patriotmobile.com Bannon or call 972-patriot and use promo code Friday. Again that's a free smartphone. Let me repeat, a free smartphone offer is eligible only with the promo code Friday. This a limited time offer or until supplies run out. Terms and conditions apply. Join me make the switch today. Patriotmobile.com Ben and that's patriotmobile.com/Bannon or call 972 Patriot Human really trying to fill.
Steve Bannon
This gap with quality supplements and of course the beef liver being our flagship products. For those who don't know, beef liver is loaded with highly bioavailable ingredients such as vitamin A, B12, zinc, CoQ10, etc. And because it is 100% grass fed and natural, your body is able to.
Charlie Kirk
Absorb these nutrients far better than taking.
Steve Bannon
Any other synthetic multivitamin or any other synthetic vitamin in general. So we have some other amazing products, but if you'd like to check us.
Charlie Kirk
Out, you can go to sacredhumanhealth.com and.
Bobby Kennedy
Cheers to your health.
Charlie Kirk
700,000Americans every year. Yes, heart disease is the number one killer every year, year in and year out. Heart disease builds over time. Hypertension, high blood pressure, bad cholesterol, diabetes, all of it affects our heart. A healthy heart is key to being energetic. As we get older, it is never too early to take care of your heart. You see, heart disease sneaks up on us. You can start in your 30s and when this happens, you're at serious risk by the time you turn 60. If you want to take care of your heart and those you care about, please go to war roomhealth.com that's war room health.com all one word war room health.com use the code war room at checkout to save 67% of your first shipment. That's code war room at checkout to save sixty seven percent and do it again. War room health all one word war room health dot com go there today. You need if you're going to be part of the posse. You need a strong heart. You need a lion's heart. How we're going to do that is with Salty. Go there, do it today, check it out.
Episode Summary: Bannon's War Room – Episode 4230: The Hearing Of RFK Jr. Cont.
Release Date: January 29, 2025
In Episode 4230 of Bannon's War Room, host Stephen K. Bannon navigates through the pivotal hearing of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK Jr.), addressing critical issues ranging from federal funding for health centers to the pervasive influence of Big Pharma in American politics. The episode features intense discussions between Bobby Kennedy, senators such as James Lankford, Tommy Tuberville, Sheldon Whitehouse, Mike Johnson, and John Barrasso, alongside interjections from Steve Bannon and Charlie Kirk.
Senator Lankford vs. Bobby Kennedy
The episode opens with Senator James Lankford questioning Bobby Kennedy about the potential freezing of federal funds for community health centers, emphasizing the administration's recent actions.
Bobby Kennedy firmly counters, asserting the White House's commitment to ensuring no American is denied benefits.
Despite initial support, Senator Lankford expresses disappointment, indicating that while Indian health centers remain funded, other community health centers might face financial freezes due to fluctuating federal guidelines.
Senator Tuberville's Inquiry
Senator Tommy Tuberville delves into Title 10 policies within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), highlighting the stark contrast between the Trump and Biden administrations' stances on abortion funding.
Kennedy emphasizes his alignment with Trump's directive to halt federal funding for abortions, ensuring that his tenure would reflect the administration's moral stance on this issue.
Senator Whitehouse and Steve Bannon's Discussion
Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, joined by Steve Bannon, critiques the overwhelming influence of Big Pharma in Washington, labeling it as the most powerful industrial complex.
They discuss how Big Pharma's entanglement with various committees and its pervasive lobbying efforts undermine legislative integrity, prompting calls for stringent reforms to curb its sway over healthcare legislation.
Senator Whitehouse Advocates for RFK Jr.
Despite RFK Jr.'s perceived alignment with Democratic ideals, Senator Whitehouse champions his nomination, highlighting his unwavering stance on health and environmental issues.
This support underscores a strategic alliance aimed at diversifying Republican support by embracing figures who resonate with broader segments of the electorate concerned about health and environmental policies.
Senator Mike Johnson's Concerns
Senator Mike Johnson raises alarms about the declining state of rural hospitals, emphasizing the dire consequences of Medicaid funding cuts and bureaucratic inefficiencies.
Bobby Kennedy responds by advocating for AI-driven healthcare innovations and telemedicine to sustain rural health services, pledging to prioritize these initiatives if confirmed.
Senator John Barrasso's Oversight
Senator John Barrasso confronts Bobby Kennedy on the lack of transparency within HHS, questioning the handling of public health data and the heavy redaction practices that obscure information.
Kennedy pledges to enhance openness within HHS, aiming to restore public trust through unbridled access to information generated by taxpayer-funded endeavors.
Senator Tuberville's Probe
Senator Tommy Tuberville scrutinizes Bobby Kennedy's financial ties to anti-vaccine lawsuits, probing potential conflicts of interest that may arise from his dual roles.
Kennedy clarifies his commitment to not accept such compensations during his tenure, though he resists fully renouncing his involvement in anti-vaccine litigation permanently.
Discussions on Budget and Military
The conversation shifts to fiscal strategies, with senators debating the implications of substantial defense budgets and the looming debt ceiling crisis.
Senator Whitehouse emphasizes the necessity of prudent defense spending, cautioning against unchecked fiscal expansion that could exacerbate national debt.
Senator Lankford to Bobby Kennedy [00:24]: “All of those don't directly pay out a dollar at a time, but they come from federal funding… those funds are still frozen.”
Bobby Kennedy [03:48]: “I serve at the pleasure of the president. I'm going to implement his policies.”
Senator Whitehouse [12:20]: “Big Pharma… There's no doubt because it touches so many people.”
Senator Whitehouse to Steve Bannon [35:23]: “They have Tulsi Gabbard… She's on top of the material. She has your stamp of approval.”
Senator Johnson [39:49]: “…33 hospitals in Wyoming, 26 are in hard-to-reach areas, six at risk of closing…”
Senator Tuberville [52:10]: “You've taken in $2.5 million from a law firm promoting lawsuits against vaccine makers…”
Episode 4230 of Bannon's War Room provides a comprehensive look into the multifaceted hearing of RFK Jr., dissecting the intricate web of healthcare funding, political influence of Big Pharma, rural healthcare challenges, and ethical considerations surrounding HHS leadership. The discussions underscore a Republican-led initiative to reform health policies, reinstate conservative stances on abortion, and mitigate the overpowering presence of pharmaceutical lobbyists in government operations. Bobby Kennedy emerges as a pivotal figure, navigating endorsements and criticisms while pledging to align with the administration's policies to address America's pressing health crises.
Note: This summary intentionally omits advertisements and non-content segments to focus solely on the substantive discussions and insights presented during the episode.