Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass) on Thursday will press West Virginia state Senator Mike Stuart (R) about how his beliefs on topics like vaccines and abortion will impact how he potentially serves as general counsel of the Department of Health and Human Services.
Stuart supported a state bill that would have allowed for exemptions in West Virginia’s school vaccination policy. He has also referred to himself as “unapologetically pro-life” and has been proud to be endorsed by West Virginians for Life in a post on X.
President Donald Trump tapped Stuart to serve as the top lawyer for the agency in February, and the Senate Finance Committee is scheduled to consider his nomination Thursday at 10 a.m.
If confirmed, Stuart will be responsible for giving legal advice to Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Deputy Secretary Jim O’Neil, who have already instituted numerous changes to the agency, like sweeping layoffs and firings.
“Your interpretation of the law plays a critical role in ensuring that HHS is achieving its goal of ‘protecting the health of all Americans,'” Warren wrote in a letter to Stuart shared first with The Hill.
“But given your ideological views, zealous for restrictions on abortion, and record of anti-vaccine skepticism, I am concerned that, rather than faithfully following the law, you will greenlight Trump Administration policies that will endanger public health, strip Americans of their abortion rights, and cause millions of Americans to lose their health insurance.”
In the letter, Warren asks Stuart to come to the hearing with written answers to more than 70 questions on vaccines, abortion access, staffing cuts, Medicaid and the implementation of the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.”
“HHS carries an enormous responsibility as its services and programming touch millions of American lives every day,” Warren’s letter reads. “The chief legal adviser to the Secretary of HHS must be able to, without bias, effectively advise the Secretary to ensure that all actions by HHS are in accordance with the law.”
