'He lied to you': GOP senator confronted on live TV with past claims about key Trump official​

Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), a medical doctor, on Sunday struggled to answer a series of questions from CNN’s Jake Tapper about Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Cassidy appeared on CNN’s “State of the Union” and was asked about a recent change made to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) website. Kennedy said Friday he personally instructed the CDC to add language questioning the claim that "vaccines do not cause autism.”

"The claim ‘vaccines do not cause autism’ is not an evidence-based claim because studies have not ruled out the possibility that infant vaccines cause autism,” the CDC website now reads.

Tapper on Sunday played a clip of Cassidy asking Kennedy during his conformation hearing if he’d “unequivocally and without qualification say that [vaccines do] not cause autism” if “the data is brought to” him.

“Not only will I do that, but I will apologize for any statements that misled people otherwise,” Kennedy told Cassidy at his confirmation hearing.

“Dr. Cassidy, [Kennedy] lied to you,” Tapper said Sunday.

“Speaking as a physician,“vaccines are safe," Cassidy said.

"It's actually quite well proven that vaccines are not associated with autism,” the senator added. “There's a fringe out there that thinks so, but they're quite a fringe. President [Donald] Trump agrees that vaccines are safe.”

The medical doctor continued speaking about vaccine safety without mentioning Kennedy.

“How worried are you that this change to the CDC's website and Secretary Kennedy's other actions are going to result in more dead Americans?” Tapper asked.

“Anything that undermines the understanding, the correct understanding, the absolute scientifically-based understanding that vaccines are safe … is a problem,” Cassidy said. “And so I want to make America healthy again. I want to agree with President Trump.”

Cassidy again continued discussing vaccine safety without mentioning Kennedy.

“You were the deciding vote that allowed RFK Jr. to ascend to the role of health secretary,” Tapper said.

The CNN host then rolled a clip of Cassidy explaining his decision to confirm Kennedy on the Senate floor. In his speech, Cassidy insisted Kennedy "will maintain the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's advisory committee on immunization practices recommendations without changes."

"CDC will not remove statements on their website pointing out that vaccines do not cause autism," Cassidy said during his speech.

“Did you give RFK Jr. too much credit?” Tapper asked Cassidy Sunday.

Cassidy replied that Trump “agrees that vaccines are safe and important” and argued “there's an asterisk associated with that change on the website.”

Tapper later noted Cassidy “[doesn’t] seem willing to criticize [Kennedy] by name at all," prompting Cassidy to accuse the CNN host of trying to goad him.

“Clearly, this conversation, you want me to be on the record saying something negative,” Cassidy said. “And of course, it makes news if Republicans spite each other. I get that.”

“I don't even know that he’s a Republican,” Tapper said of Kennedy.

“Or whatever,” Cassidy continued. “But you know. I'm all about how do we make America healthy? And I speak as a physician, and I don't think the tit-for-tat is what people are about.”

“And so, I know it's titillating, but I think we need to move beyond the titillation and to actually what matters to the American people,” Cassidy complained.

“I’m going to turn to your health care plan, because I know you really want to talk about it, but I'll just say this isn't about titillation,” Tapper replied. "This is about the fact that you are the chairman of the health committee, and you voted to confirm somebody that by all accounts … is actually making America less healthy when it comes to vaccines and studies.”