Senate GOP Leader Says He’s ‘Very Concerned’ About RFK Jr’s Claims On Tylenol, Autism

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) said he was “very concerned” about recent comments by President Donald Trump and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. claiming there was a connection between Tylenol use during pregnancy and autism, telling CNN anchor Dana Bash that he thought “science ought to guide these discussions.”

Monday, Trump and Kennedy held a press conference during which they made a number of unfounded claims about autism, blamed women for taking Tylenol during pregnancy, misrepresented the current vaccine schedule, and erroneously asserted that the Amish and people in Cuban have “no autism.”

Tylenol, or acetaminophen, has been recommended to pregnant women for decades to treat pain and fever, as one of the few painkillers that is safe for both the mother and unborn baby. The research does not show that acetaminophen use during pregnancy causes the child to have autism, and a number of Trump and Kennedy’s other claims were also misrepresentations or incorrect.

Bash asked Thune about these comments during Wednesday’s episode of Inside Politics. A transcript of their conversation is below:

BASH: Speaking of health care, I do want to ask about President Trump, along with HHS Secretary RFK Jar, saying this week that pregnant women should limit using Tylenol during pregnancy because of a quote, very increased risk of autism. And that’s a claim that is not grounded in science. How worried are you, sir, that RFK Jar and the president will actually with what they’ve said adversely impact the health of American women and their babies?

THUNE: I’m obviously very concerned about that. I am a father and a grandfather and just have, as of about seven months ago, a newborn grandson.

BASH: Congratulations.

THUNE: So, obviously pregnant — thank you — pregnant moms is something I have a very high level of interest in, and I do — I agree, I think that science ought to guide these discussions, these conversations, and our decision making around our health. There are studies out there that they reference. But again, I think there are an awful lot of people in the medical community who come to a different conclusion about the use of Tylenol. And so, I think that — obviously my view is we ought to be very guarded in making broad assertions and make sure that they are well grounded in science and medicine, and where we’re taking the consultation advice of experts in the field and ensuring that these things are all well documented.

BASH: So, given the fact that it sounds like you do have some concerns about it, and RFK Jar is in his job because you and the majority of the Senate voted to confirm him, is there anything that you can do to push back or call him, or is there anything you can do at all, or should you do in order to change the public discourse?

THUNE: Right. The Senate Finance Committee had an oversight hearing recently where he testified, and I think he’s scheduled to come before, or maybe the CDC Director Dr Oz is scheduled to come before the Health Committee, the Health Education, Labor and Pensions Committee as well, to talk about some of these issues.

But again, and I — the Secretary has a responsibility and obligation to restore and return the trust of the American people in the decision making process there, and I think the way to do that is to make sure the decisions are grounded in science. But yes, there needs to be oversight, there needs to be accountability, and there needs to be transparency into this decision making process and ensure that it is governed by science.

And we have a number of physicians, as you know, who are Republican senators, who have pretty strong views about this, and I think have made those clear, not only in the last few days, but prior to that. As these decisions are made about America’s public health, they ought to be grounded in science, and that’s my belief, and I hope that the Secretary adheres to that. There will certainly be, I think, future opportunities for him to come in and defend his views and decision making process that leads him to decisions that he makes.

Watch the clip above via CNN.