Republicans to Watch During Kennedy’s Confirmation Hearings

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appears before the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday in a high-stakes, high-profile hearing that will help determine whether he becomes the nation’s health secretary. In a Senate where Republicans hold a slim majority, Mr. Kennedy can afford to lose the support of just three senators if his nomination comes before the full body of lawmakers for a vote.

Democrats, with the possible exception of Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, are expected to vote against him. So his confirmation will depend on whether he can win the votes of Republicans who may have doubts. Here are some to watch.

Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky

Mr. McConnell, the former Republican leader, is the Senate’s lone polio survivor, which gives him a unique perspective on Mr. Kennedy, one of the nation’s loudest critics of vaccines. Mr. McConnell has played it close to the vest, though he did issue a warning of sorts to Mr. Kennedy, with a statement saying that anyone who seeks to “undermine public confidence in proven cures” would have trouble winning confirmation in the Senate.

Mr. McConnell does not sit on the Senate’s Finance Committee, or the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, which will hold a hearing for Mr. Kennedy on Thursday. So observers are likely to have to wait for the nomination to come before the full Senate to learn how Mr. McConnell will vote. One intriguing indicator: Mr. McConnell did not meet with Mr. Kennedy for the customary “courtesy visit” that nominees make in advance of confirmation hearings.

Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana

Mr. Cassidy, a member of the Finance Committee, is also chairman of the health committee and a doctor, which gives him additional influence over legislative matters concerning medicine and public health. He has generally been supportive of the nation’s public health establishment, and he appears to be uneasy about Mr. Kennedy.

Mr. Cassidy has not said how he will vote. After he met with Mr. Kennedy, he wrote on social media that they had a “frank conversation,” which is often Washington code for an unresolved disagreement. He later told Fox News that Mr. Kennedy was “wrong” about vaccines.