WASHINGTON — Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy asked Thursday that health chief nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. put aside his decades-old questioning of vaccinations and promote immunizations should he be con

Sen. Bill Cassidy has emerged as a central figure in the confirmation of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whose nomination to health and human services secretary poses an equally consequential moment for the second-term Republican facing an uncertain political future in Louisiana.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. goes before two two U.S. Senate hearings in his quest to head the nation's health department. Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy, a doctor, sits on both.