Senate Democrats on the finance committee called for health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, to resign as he began testifying before the committee and faced questions about the turmoil facing his agency.
“Robert Kennedy’s primary interest is taking vaccines away from Americans,” ranking member Ron Wyden, a Democratic senator from Oregon, said in his opening remarks. “People are hurt by his reckless disregard for science and the truth in this effort. I hope the very least, Robert Kennedy has the decency to tell the truth this morning.”
Kennedy is testifying before the committee Thursday in a hearing ostensibly about the Trump administration’s healthcare agenda. It comes as Democrats are sharply criticizing Kennedy’s leadership of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), pointing to Kennedy’s frequent remarks expressing vaccine skepticism, claims that the scientific community is deeply politicized, and the ongoing turmoil plaguing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Last week, Kennedy fired the director, Susan Monarez, less than a month after she was confirmed to her position. She is now mounting a legal case challenging her removal.
Shortly after Monarez’s termination, several leading public health officials at the CDC resigned from their positions, citing frustration with Kennedy’s approach to vaccines and his management style.
Also last month, the Food and Drug Administration approved the new batch of Covid-19 vaccines, but placed restrictions on who would be able to access them. The agency has authorized shots for people 65 and older, who are known to be more at risk from serious illnesses from Covid infections. Younger people will only be eligible if they have an underlying medical condition that makes them vulnerable. Infectious disease experts say that this policy could prove extremely dangerous, particularly for young children.
On Tuesday, Kennedy defended HHS’ handling of the measles outbreak that affected several states. While the secretary said that his agency’s response was effective, public health experts said his messaging around vaccines was muddied and confusing.
Kennedy justified changes at the CDC , calling them “absolutely necessary” in his remarks Thursday. “We are the sickest country in the world. That’s why we need the fire people at CDC. They did not do their job. This was their job to keep us healthy.”
In June, Kennedy fired all 17 members of the CDC’s vaccine advisory committee – a move that defied a promise he made during his confirmation hearing to Republican senator Bill Cassidy, a physician who chairs the Senate health committee. Many of Kennedy’s replacements for the advisory panel have a history of vaccine skepticism.
When asked about the changes to the advisory committee, and how that will change the vaccine recommendations and scheduling, Kennedy said he didn’t anticipate changes to the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine.
