Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Donald Trump’s controversial pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, has an experienced guide to shepherd him to confirmation in the Senate.
Ken Nahigian, who led the Trump transition in 2017, is Kennedy’s liaison to senators, according to four people familiar with the matter.
Nahigian knows the Senate well. He worked for the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee under then-Chairs John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Ted Stevens (R-Alaska). He cut his teeth in politics working advance for longtime Kansas Sen. Bob Dole’s 1996 presidential campaign.
Nahigian is currently executive vice president for policy and communications at the communications shop Nahigian Strategies.
After working on Trump’s transition in 2017, he and his firm secured hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal consulting contracts through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
He once lobbied for health care interests, including the Israeli drugmaker Teva Pharmaceuticals and the Coalition for Access Now, which promotes cannabidiol, a marijuana derivative, for medical purposes.
Nahigian is working with Katie Miller, who was then-Vice President Mike Pence’s communications director and is married to Trump adviser Stephen Miller. She is handling the communications around Kennedy’s confirmation process.
Nahigian declined to comment. He and his brother Keith have run Nahigian Strategies since 2007, and both have done stints for GOP campaigns.
Kennedy spent Wednesday and Thursday on Capitol Hill, attempting to win the votes of Senate Republicans and Democrats who will decide whether he leads HHS.
House Democrats, the Democratic governor of Hawaii, and progressive groups are urging a no vote. On Thursday, the Committee to Protect Health Care, a physicians’ advocacy group, released an open letter signed by more than 15,000 doctors calling Kennedy, who has long questioned public health consensus about the importance of vaccination, “dangerous.”
Republicans have mostly backed Kennedy and he can win confirmation if 50 of the 53 GOP senators vote for him.
Texas Sen. John Cornyn, who sits on the Finance Committee, which will likely hold a confirmation hearing in the coming weeks, said he would vote to confirm.
“He’s not anti-vaccine,” Cornyn said. “He is pro-vaccine safety, which strikes me as a rational position to take.”
Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, a longtime advocate of farm interests, told reporters Kennedy’s views on farming and food production are “much more reasonable than I expected,” despite Kennedy’s past criticism of genetically modified plants and pesticides.
“The reports I read didn’t reflect what he actually believes and how he will act in those areas,” Grassley said.
Agriculture Committee Chair John Boozman of Arkansas also said he had a “good meeting” with Kennedy during which they spoke about Kennedy’s views on pesticides.
“That’s the kind of talk I like to hear,” Boozman said.
Boozman added that Kennedy would merely try to discourage consumption of ultra-processed foods, not seek to ban ingredients or manufacturing processes.
Boozman said he’d wait until Kennedy’s confirmation hearing to say if he’ll vote for him.
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), who leads the committee that oversees HHS, said he had a “frank” discussion with Kennedy Wednesday, offering a more tepid assessment than some of his fellow Republicans.
Democratic senators who sat down with Kennedy, including Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey of Massachusetts and Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, wouldn’t comment after meeting with him.
Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) deflected on whether he would vote to confirm.
“I absolutely believe in vaccinations,” Fetterman said. “I would never argue against [vaccines].”
