Senate Republicans are signaling that they are open to Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nomination to lead the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) despite his long-standing support of abortion rights and concerns emanating from anti-abortion voices about his selection.

RFK Jr. would also have the power, along with the FDA commissioner, to slow down or hamper the process by which new vaccines are evaluated, approved, and recommended. That could discourage pharmaceutical companies from developing new or reformulated vaccines.