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Tag: Republican

  • Republican Senator Express ‘Concern’ Over Potential Change

    Republican Senator Express ‘Concern’ Over Potential Change

    Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana expressed his “concern” for the potential change to the hepatitis B vaccine schedule for infants in the United States.

    The lawmaker’s concern comes as Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s panel of federal vaccine advisers will come together to talk about and potentially vote on a change to the vaccine schedule when they meet for the next time on Dec. 4.

    Bill Cassidy on Hepatitis B Vaccine Schedule

    Cassidy said that his skepticism of the change is because the hepatitis B vaccine and its ingredients, which include aluminum, have been “shown to be safe.” He argued that this is a policy made by people who do not understand the epidemiology of hepatitis B or who have become comfortable with long-term success with the current recommendation.

    A Federal Register notice showed that the agenda for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices will include talks on “vaccine safety, the childhood and adolescent immunization schedule, and hepatitis B vaccines, according to The Hill.

    The idea of removing aluminum, or even issuing a warning about its use, would significantly affect some of the most important childhood shots across the United States. These include those for DTaP, hepatitis A and B, HPV, pneumococcal, and meningitis.

    Other than hepatitis B, it is not yet clear what other possible changes the panel could talk about in the upcoming meeting. However, United States President Donald Trump’s administration has long been advocating for breaking up the combined measles-mumps-rubella shot that is given to children and turning it into three shots.

    The Benefits of Current Recommendations

    Cassidy, who chairs the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, said that, as a doctor, he has seen people die from vaccine-preventable diseases. He added that he wants to make America healthy, and argued that this does not start by stopping recommendations that have made people “substantially healthier,” CBS News reported.

    The Republican senator, who is a physician whose medical practice focused on hepatitis B, noted that the recommended vaccine, which is given at birth, has decreased the incidence of chronic hepatitis B by 20,000 people over the last two decades.

    Data showed that since the recommendation that infants receive their first hepatitis B vaccine dose within 24 hours after being born, which was implemented in 1991, it has given various benefits. These include the prevention of more than 500,000 childhood infections and the reduction of infant hepatitis B cases by 95 percent, among other things, as per NFID.



    Originally published on parentherald.com

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  • Republican Senator Blames Technical Error For Sudden Freeze on Live TV

    Republican Senator Blames Technical Error For Sudden Freeze on Live TV

    A Republican senator blamed a technical error for his sudden freeze on live TV, which sparked rumors of health issues online.

    In an interview with Fox News’ “Kudlow” Tuesday, Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy and host Larry Kudlow were discussing President Donald Trump’s mass deportation efforts when the senator stopped mid-sentence and just stared ahead without speaking.

    “I’m sure Jesus loves him but everybody else thinks—” Kennedy said before trailing off. The senator then stared slightly off camera smiling. He licked his lips before Fox News cut him off and returned the broadcast to just Ludlow.



    “I guess we had some more technical problems. That was the same mic that we lost with Sen. Rand Paul. Awful sorry to hear that because everybody respects what Sen. John Kennedy has to say,” Ludlow said.

    Kennedy’s freeze immediately sparked rumors online of possible medical issues. Others compared the incident to Sen. Mitch McConnell’s freeze during a news conference with reporters in August 2023.




    “He glitched,” one user wrote. Another quipped, “Bro is trying to be Mitch McConnell.” Some users suggested medical issues like a “mini stroke” or “stroke-like symptoms.”

    Kennedy returned to Fox News the following day, during which he clarified that the abrupt end to his interview had been a result of technical errors, and not health-related issues.


    “I was just yapping away and all of a sudden my ear piece blew up,” Kennedy said, pointing to his right ear. “It sounded like a 747 was taking off. Man, my ears are still ringing. Anyways, I assumed we were up there and I just stopped talking and didn’t start talking until I could hear you.”

    The senator denied any claims that he experienced a medical issue during the broadcast, dismissing rumors of “a brain freeze … or a stroke or caught an STD live on television.”

    Kennedy said in a statement obtained by the Daily Mail that he “heard a loud screeching noise with a lot of static” and that he “stopped talking until the interference cleared up,” thinking they were off the air. The Republican blasted media outlets for covering the incident with suggestions of possible health concerns.

    Originally published on Latin Times



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  • Florida Republican Blames ‘Fearmongering’ Left After Doctors Hesitated to Treat Her Ectopic Pregnancy Over Abortion Laws

    Florida Republican Blames ‘Fearmongering’ Left After Doctors Hesitated to Treat Her Ectopic Pregnancy Over Abortion Laws

    A Republican lawmaker in Florida blamed the “fearmongering” left after doctors hesitated to treat her life-threatening ectopic pregnancy due to the state’s strict abortion laws.

    In May 2024, the same month Florida’s 6-week abortion ban took effect, Rep. Kat Cammack learned she was experiencing an ectopic pregnancy, a condition in which a fertilized egg implants outside the uterus and cannot survive. She required an injection of methotrexate to terminate the pregnancy, but medical staff hesitated, fearing they could lose their licenses or face prison time under the new law, according to reporting by The Wall Street Journal.

    Cammack argued that her pregnancy was nonviable, that she was just five weeks along, and that her life was in danger. She even called Gov. Ron DeSantis’s office for help, but got no response. Eventually, doctors agreed to administer the drug, ultimately saving her life.

    Despite the ordeal, Cammack did not blame the law itself, instead accusing the left of scaring medical professionals by emphasizing the risk of criminal charges.

    “It was absolute fearmongering at its worst,” Cammack told The Wall Street Journal, adding that abortion-rights advocates are quick to blame Republicans for the confusion caused by what they see as vague legislation.

    “There will be some comments like, ‘Well, thank God we have abortion services,’ even though what I went through wasn’t an abortion,” Cammack said.

    Molly Duane, a senior attorney at the Center for Reproductive Rights, pushed back on Cammack’s claim, arguing that state regulators had made clear their intent to strictly enforce the abortion ban. She added that blaming medical professionals follows “the playbook of antiabortion extremists that for decades have been blaming and villainizing doctors.”

    Originally published on Latin Times

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  • Trump’s Cognitive ‘Decline’ Suggests He ‘Might Not Make It Through Four Years,’ Republican Strategist Says

    Trump’s Cognitive ‘Decline’ Suggests He ‘Might Not Make It Through Four Years,’ Republican Strategist Says

    A Republican strategist warned that President Donald Trump’s accelerating “cognitive decline” could prevent him from completing his second term.

    In an interview with Times Radio, Lincoln Project co-founder Rick Wilson claimed Trump is no longer the same political force seen during his previous campaigns, saying his speech, memory, and coherence have visibly deteriorated.

    “He is incoherent,” Wilson said. “His inability to articulate any thought or position without constant asides, constant lapses… this is not the Trump of 2015, nor is he the Trump of 2020. He’s not even the Trump of 2024.”



    Wilson pointed to verbal lapses and behavioral patterns that, he says, mirror early signs of dementia. While acknowledging he’s not a medical professional, he alleged many neurological experts see troubling similarities.

    Despite these concerns, the White House physician, Captain Sean Barbabella, issued a clean bill of health in April, stating Trump “exhibits excellent cognitive and physical health.”

    Wilson, however, argued that Trump’s age and long-standing health habits cast doubts over his ability to withstand the grueling demands of the presidency through 2029.

    “He’s a guy who’s subsisted off of McDonald’s and Kentucky Fried Chicken and well done steaks for a very long time,” he said. “He is not a healthy guy.”

    “Whether he makes it through four years is an open question,” Wilson said. “Given the pace of the decline that we’ve seen…I think he’ll be pretty much checked out by the middle of this second term.”

    The president has consistently dismissed concerns about his health, frequently boasting about passing cognitive tests.

    “I don’t know that he’s going to ever be told by anyone, ‘Sir you’re not healthy, you can’t do this anymore,’” Wilson said, predicting internal strife on the horizon. “But I think by the end of this, you’re going to be in a civil war with the MAGAs to choose a successor.”

    The speculation follows not only scrutiny of Trump’s cognitive aptitude, but bombshell reports of former President Joe Biden’s cognitive decline toward the end of his term, and of efforts taken to conceal his diminishing mental acuity from the public.

    Originally published on Latin Times

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  • Republican Anti-Abortion Bill May Block Access to Chemotherapy, Life-Saving Surgeries in Wyoming: Report

    Republican Anti-Abortion Bill May Block Access to Chemotherapy, Life-Saving Surgeries in Wyoming: Report

    A Republican-led bill seeking to challenge abortion access may also block access to chemotherapy and life-saving surgeries in Wyoming, according to a report.

    According to the bill, Senate File 125, “No act, treatment or procedure that causes harm to the heart, respiratory system, central nervous system, brain, skeletal system, jointed or muscled appendages or organ function shall be construed as healthcare.”

    Although the bill is intended to target the concept of fetal personhood, healthcare and law professionals are worried that various other procedures and treatments, such as chemotherapy, could be affected by the bill.

    “There’s a slew of medical procedures, surgeries, treatments that can have potentially positive outcomes but may also cause harm in the short period or as an unintended consequence,” Wyoming attorney Abigail Fournier told the The Guardian.

    An amendment to Wyoming’s state constitution in 2012 stated that making healthcare decisions was a right of individuals in the state. Senate File 125 is the first of its kind trying to change the definition of healthcare.

    While Cheri Steinmetz, the Republican state senator who authored the bill, told The Guardian that she was not trying to change the constitution, just the definition used, Wyoming attorney Clark Stith said that they believe changing the meaning could still constitute changing the constitution.

    Wyoming’s abortion ban was struck down by a judge in November 2024. At the time, women and organizations had argued that the ban violated the 2012 amendment, and that it also infringed upon their rights, NPR reported at the time.

    As the state appeals this ruling, state representatives have also created bills seeking to restrict abortion access, such as requiring a trans-vaginal ultrasound before patients can receive abortion medication, as reported by WyoFile.

    At least two abortion-related House bills have passed the House since the abortion ban was struck down. A third one is set to be debated on in the coming weeks.

    Originally published by Latin Times.

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