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Ron Wyden Torches Trump's Deputy HHS Secretary Nominee, Warns He Will 'Do Whatever' RFK Says
Forbes Breaking News
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6/5/2025
During remarks on the Senate floor Thursday, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) spoke about the nomination of James O'Neill to serve as Deputy HHS Secretary.
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00:00
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Kirsta Heckmeyer of our team be granted floor privileges for the remainder of the Congress.
00:07
Without objection.
00:09
Mr. President, I urge a no vote on Jim O'Neill to be the Deputy Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.
00:17
His nomination comes before the Senate as Republicans push ahead on an agenda that is going to cut Americans' health care
00:25
by more than a trillion dollars and caused 16 million Americans to lose their health coverage.
00:32
The legislation is filled with ideas straight out of the for-profit insurance industry's playbook.
00:41
Republicans are rolling out more red tape at a time when Americans are already sick of jumping through hoops
00:48
so that insurance companies can continue to post profits.
00:52
The legislation, in my view, is also a disaster for America's senior citizens.
01:01
A million low-income seniors are going to see their Medicare premiums go up by nearly $200 a month.
01:08
The legislation is going to make nursing homes less safe for frail, older people.
01:14
In a word, they are going to start taking the nurses out of nursing homes.
01:20
If Mehmet Oz has his way, nursing homes would replace staff with AI bots.
01:26
That is not going to work for a senior who needs help getting to the bathroom in the middle of the night.
01:33
The legislation is going to hurt hundreds of thousands of seniors and kids with disabilities
01:37
by reducing services for those who count on Medicaid to get care at home.
01:43
Now, Americans have heard a lot about Medicaid in the bill, but the legislation is such a deficit buster
01:51
that it's going to trigger $500 billion in Medicare cuts.
01:57
This legislation is going to hit rural hospitals like a wrecking ball.
02:01
This comes on top of the Trump administration stepping back from tough negotiations
02:09
with the big pharmaceutical companies that would lower the cost of medicine.
02:14
So here's the truth.
02:15
Trump and the Republicans are willing to kick millions of folks off their health insurance
02:20
and hurt older Americans so there'll be more tax breaks for corporations and the ultra-wealthy.
02:27
Now, I asked Mr. O'Neill and the Finance Committee to basically give us a straight up or down
02:33
on whether he's going to oppose cutting Medicaid, and I did that as part of the confirmation process.
02:40
All he would do was repeat the same tired talking points
02:43
about how only certain groups of people deserve health care.
02:48
The Trump administration and Republicans in Congress are simply unwilling to defend the bill.
02:54
They know it's morally bankrupt.
02:57
They basically won't even talk about it in public.
03:00
I guess that's why we're not having an open-to-all-finance committee discussion, a markup of the bill,
03:08
because I guess the Republicans would rather just pretend to make up what the bill actually is all about.
03:16
Now, Mr. O'Neill has gone out of his way to defend Robert Kennedy's disastrous approach
03:20
to prevent infectious diseases like measles.
03:25
To make matters worse, Mr. O'Neill expressed his support for Kennedy's appalling views
03:30
about the livelihoods of Americans with autism.
03:34
As Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services, Mr. O'Neill would be Robert Kennedy's right-hand man.
03:41
That person needs to be willing to challenge the Secretary's worst impulses,
03:46
which the American people have now seen on full display.
03:50
I see no evidence Mr. O'Neill is that person.
03:53
Each day, Americans turn on the TV, pick up a newspaper, or turn on radio stations and podcasts
04:00
only to hear that Donald Trump and his allies are ripping away basic health care
04:05
from millions of Americans who are just trying to get by.
04:09
These families are worried sick about what will be next on the chopping block.
04:14
I want to make it clear I don't think it makes sense to support a nominee
04:18
who will do whatever Robert Kennedy says, including destroying Medicaid
04:22
and the rest of the American health care system.
04:26
I urge my colleagues to vote no on the O'Neill nomination. I yield back.
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