The insane.... Can't make this shit up...

Bill Cassidy urges FDA nominee to reject Trump’s vaccine claim

The senator and physician said Heidi Overton must acknowledge during her confirmation hearing that Trump’s claim that the measles vaccine is lethal is “absurd.”

By Jalen Beckford

Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy said Sunday that President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Food and Drug Administration must acknowledge that Trump’s claim that the measles vaccine is lethal is “absurd” when she appears before his committee later this week.

“I need to hear that she understands that calling the measles vaccine lethal is absurd, and we need radical honesty,” Cassidy (R-La.) said Sunday on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” when asked what he needs to be persuaded during Dr. Heidi Overton’s confirmation hearing later this week.

Overton stood alongside Trump in the Oval Office last month as he falsely described the MMR vaccine as “quite lethal,” as well as linked it to autism and signed an executive order changing the schedule of childhood vaccinations. Cassidy previously railed against the order, calling it “nonsensical,” and said Overton’s involvement was “almost disqualifying.”

Cassidy doubled down Sunday and urged Overton to explain whether she would challenge vaccine misinformation from Trump if confirmed.

“We should have a common voice of radical honesty of trying to help the American people understand what is safe,” Cassidy said. “And if the president calls it lethal, then where are you getting your information, Mr. President?”

Cassidy pointed to surgeon general nominee Dr. Nicole Saphier, who told senators during her confirmation hearing last week that vaccines are safe. She earned Cassidy’s support.

“When somebody is willing to be honest to the American people and say that vaccines are safe, you should be taking it, and the consequence of not can even include death — well, what else can you ask for when it comes to vaccines?” he said.

Cassidy has increasingly criticized the administration’s vaccine policies since losing Louisiana’s Republican Senate primary in May. The Louisiana doctor finished behind Trump-endorsed Rep. Julia Letlow and state Treasurer John Fleming, ending his bid for reelection. The defeat followed years of tension with Trump, including Cassidy’s impeachment vote against Trump.

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, which Cassidy chairs, is set to consider Overton’s nomination to lead the FDA on Thursday.