Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana has emerged as a central figure in the confirmation of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Donald Trump's nominee for health and human services secretary.

On the second day of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s contentious confirmation hearings, GOP senator and health and education committee chair Bill Cassidy appeared to be balancing his support for President Trump against his serious misgivings about Kennedy heading the Department of Health and Human Services — and how one could harm the other.

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.

Click in for more news from The Hill{beacon} Health Care Health Care   The Big Story All eyes on Cassidy for second RFK Jr. hearing Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), chair of the Senate

Sanders, the senior minority party member on the committee, pressed Kennedy to concede that health care was a human right, as his father, Robert F. Kennedy, and his uncles, John F. Kennedy and Edward Kennedy, had done. Kennedy again did not give a definitive answer.

While Democrats blasted Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for previous comments on vaccines and some Republicans teed him up for stump speeches, Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana mostly stuck

The hearings were packed to capacity with protesters and fans, while the spillover crowd hung out in hallways and overflow rooms.

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry has urged the U.S. Senate — including specifically Sen. Bill Cassidy, a fellow Republican from Louisiana — to support Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Donald Trump's nominee to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Conservatives in Louisiana view the nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as a litmus test for President Trump's agenda.

The top Republican on the Senate's chief health committee, Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., indicated Thursday that he was “struggling" to confirm Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over his inability to admit vaccines are safe and don't cause autism.

Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., told Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Thursday that he has been "struggling with your nomination" to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Cassidy's comments came during the second hearing this week for Kennedy, President Donald… pic.twitter.com/zlLMfc2D0g