The Pied Piper of Pathogens — and the senator who played along

As RFK Jr. dismantles public health, Sen. Bill Cassidy smiles, nods, and vanishes into the background.

Louisiana lawmakers are rushing to pass insane legislation that would make horse dewormer—a thoroughly debunked treatment for COVID—more widely available to the public. They also want to rid our water systems of one of the most celebrated public health achievements of the past hundred years—fluoridation of tap water, which helps guard against tooth decay with no adverse health effects.

When I read the story about this madness in Friday’s Baton Rouge Advocate, my first thought was: “Thanks, Sen. Bill Cassidy. You must be so proud.”

Cassidy, a physician, claims to support vaccines and other public health measures. He says he’s distressed by the disinformation some peddle, especially about vaccines and other public health advances.

And yet, he refuses to acknowledge his complicity in the dramatic—and deadly—retreat from public health we’re witnessing, especially around vaccines. Much of it was all made possible by Cassidy’s crucial support for the nation’s most prominent enemy of public health: U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

In Louisiana, lawmakers are carrying out their own misguided, fact-free attack on public health fueled by lies and disinformation peddled by Kennedy and his allies, including Gov. Jeff Landry and state Surgeon General Ralph Abraham.

Kennedy isn’t personally wandering the halls of the Louisiana Legislature lobbying for this dangerous legislation. But his toxic influence hangs over the Capitol like the Grim Reaper.

He is the spiritual father of the modern anti-vaccine movement and a master of medical misinformation. And Cassidy helped hand him the reins of public health in America.

As chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), Cassidy could have derailed Kennedy’s nomination. He could have demanded that President Trump choose a nominee who actually supports science and public health, or at least someone who doesn’t traffic in junk science and fearmongering.

But, apparently afraid of further provoking Trump less than a year before he faces Louisiana’s electorate in a GOP primary for reelection, Cassidy surrendered.

He ditched his principles and supported Kennedy, meekly explaining that he and the secretary would stay in “close communication” and that RFK had promised to consult him before making big vaccine decisions.

If that has ever happened, it’s clear that Cassidy is either blessing Kennedy’s disinformation campaign or Kennedy is ignoring him.

At best, Cassidy looks weak and ineffective. At worst, he may be helping Kennedy undermine public health and is putting many lives at risk.

Since he became secretary with Cassidy’s support, Kennedy has:

• Mandated placebo-controlled trials for all new vaccines, including updates to existing ones. This requirement deviates from established FDA practice and could delay developing and approving essential vaccines, such as updated COVID-19 boosters. Experts argue this policy could hinder rapid and ethical vaccine development, potentially compromising public health preparedness.

• Propagated misinformation about vaccines. He falsely claimed that the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine contains “aborted fetus debris,” a thoroughly debunked statement.

• Asked the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to develop new guidance for treating measles with supplements and vitamins.

• Downplayed the severity of the situation during a significant measles outbreak in Texas. He falsely asserted that hospitalizations were primarily for quarantine purposes.

• Initiated a study aiming to identify environmental causes of autism, despite extensive research disproving any link between vaccines and autism.

• Overseen significant budget cuts to public health infrastructure, including the elimination of thousands of jobs at health agencies and the cancellation of numerous vaccination clinics.

Despite these dangerous moves, Cassidy has not publicly rebuked Kennedy—not once. No press release, no Senate floor statement, not even a carefully worded tweet.

He pretends none of this is happening and hopes voters won’t remember his role in this unfolding public health disaster.

But we must remember.

Cassidy’s decision to support Kennedy may be the most consequential of his career. Nothing will stain his record more than the deaths and damage caused by his disastrous support of RFK Jr.

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And Now, Another Nominee . . .

Twitter screenshot

Cassidy’s responsibility doesn’t end with Kennedy. As chair of the Senate HELP Committee, he’s about to preside over hearings to confirm Janette Nesheiwat, Trump’s nominee for U.S. surgeon general.

The hearings begin on Thursday, May 8.

But, as my friend Anthony Clark has revealed in a series of blockbuster stories, Nesheiwat appears to be a fraud.

Here’s just a taste of what Clark has revealed:

Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, an urgent-care physician and former Fox News medical contributor who is President Donald Trump’s nominee for surgeon general of the United States, has over at least the last 15 years falsely represented or obfuscated facts about her medical education, board certifications, and military service.

The surgeon general is a vice admiral in the Commissioned Corps—a uniformed service of medical, health, and engineering officers within the U.S. Public Health Service working throughout the country—who protects and promotes the nation’s health, issuing advisories and reports directly to the public. The position has a term of four years and requires Senate confirmation. Federal law requires that the nominee have “specialized training or significant experience in public health programs.”

Nesheiwat has carefully crafted a narrative over many years about who she is and how her career came to be, changing it over time, adding more details that do not match verifiable facts, and altering some claims, but always with the apparent purpose of seeming to be more successful and credentialed than she is. . . .

Nesheiwat is a single-specialty doctor who was not able to commission as a military officer; obtained her medical degree outside of the U.S.; became a walk-in-care provider who also sells a health supplement and was for a few years an on-air contributor to Fox News; has apparently not published in any medical or other scientific journals; and has no apparent credentials in public health. . . .

Even if everything Nesheiwat and others have said about her education, credentials, and military experience had been true, accurate, and complete, she would arguably be the least-qualified surgeon general in the modern history of the office, if not out of all to have held the position. . . .

Nesheiwat does have a record, though: of grossly misrepresenting and obfuscating her medical degree and board certifications; credibility, as well as the ability to promote the nation’s health through evidence and persuasion, is essential to the surgeon general’s moral authority.

She also has a record of providing incomplete, inaccurate, and misleading information about her uniformed experience.

I encourage you to read all of Clark’s excellent reporting on his Substack at this link.

If you’re looking for a reason to phone Cassidy’s office this next week, telling him to vote against Nesheiwat’s nomination would be a good use of your time.

Here’s the contact information for his DC and Louisiana offices:

Washington, DC office
455 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
(202) 224-5824

Monroe office
1651 Louisville Ave. Suite 123
Monroe, LA 71201
(318) 324-2111
Fax: (318)324-2197

Shreveport office
401 Market St Suite 1018
Shreveport, LA 71101
(318) 798-3215
Fax: (318) 798-8473

Alexandria office
1611 Arnold Drive Suite 112
Alexandria, LA 71303
(318) 448-7176
Fax: (318) 448-5175

Metairie office
3421 N. Causeway Blvd. Suite 204
Metairie, LA 70002
(504) 838-0130
Fax: (504) 838-0133

Lafayette office
101 La Rue France Suite 505
Lafayette, LA 70508
(337) 261-1400
Fax: (337) 261-1490

Lake Charles office
611 Broad St. Suite 117
Lake Charles, LA 70601
(337) 602-7253

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