Protect Our Care held an organizing call Monday for the “Stop RFK War Room” with more than 200 people in attendance representing dozens of groups interested in pushing back against Kennedy and his potential confirmation, the group’s executive director Brad Woodhouse told The Hill.
Protect Our Care has been a leading voice among Democratic circles to fight against GOP-led cuts to Medicaid, Medicare, the Affordable Care Act and the Inflation Reduction Act.
Woodhouse said the group has priorities it is pushing for in the congressional lame duck session — like the extension of ObamaCare subsidies — but the speed at which President-elect Trump is moving on his nominations means fighting Kennedy is now the top order of business.
He challenged the assumption that GOP control of the Senate will mean an automatic confirmation.
“We're adding this [fight] because, I mean, at the end of the day, [Kennedy] being in a place where his voice carries more weight than it does today... is dangerous and will put people's lives at risk,” Woodhouse said.
Woodhouse said the groups on the call discussed the Republican senators to target and the best way to message it — which is not to “beat up” the other side.
They’ve already hired lobbying teams targeting the home states of key GOP senators — moderate Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska; Dan Sullivan of Alaska who is up for reelection in 2026; Mike Crapo of Idaho, who is the likely chairman of the Senate Finance Committee; Thom Tillis of North Carolina, who is up for reelection in 2026 and has an uneasy relationship with the MAGA wing of the party; and current Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who Woodhouse said is a perfect advocate for vaccines and health research because he survived polio.
Woodhouse said state-level events will begin next week. They want to highlight some of the top threats that Kennedy poses to healthcare and to public health.
