Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Thursday faced grilling from a congressional committee over his effort to upend vaccine policy and widespread turmoil at federal health agencies on his watch.
RFK Jr. appeared Thursday morning before the Senate Finance Committee, where he is expected to face questions about mass layoffs, including the abrupt ouster of Centers for Disease Control director Susan Monarez, and draconian budget cuts that critics say will cripple the nation’s ability to prevent disease.
Kennedy, long one of the nation’s most prominent vaccine skeptics, will also likely be asked about his effort to reshape the nation’s vaccine policies to reflect his stated suspicions about even long-established shots with proven track records of health and safety.
President Trump has heaped praise on Kennedy as the self-styled leader of the Make America Healthy Again movement, mirroring the president’s MAGA slogan. But he’s facing rising questions about his stewardship of the sprawling health agencies and whether he misled lawmakers in previous appearances on Capitol Hill.
Just last week, Kennedy ousted Dr. Monarez as CDC director after less than a month on the job.
Monarez, a longtime government health official, says she was fired as part of a “deliberate effort” to weaken the nation’s health.
“Public health shouldn’t be partisan. Vaccines have saved millions of lives under administrations of both parties,” Monarez wrote in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece published minutes before Kennedy’s appearance. “I was fired for holding that line.”
“If we stay silent, preventable diseases will return,” she added. “This isn’t reform. It’s sabotage.”
More than 1,000 past and current Health and Human Services staffers have signed a petition calling on RFK Jr. to step down.
One closely watched lawmaker will be Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana), the chair of the health panel. He provided pivotal support for Kennedy during his divisive confirmation hearing after winning the nominee’s pledge not to upend a key federal vaccine panel staffed by respected health officials.
Kennedy has since ousted the entire vaccine advisory committee and replaced its members with several vaccine skeptics.
In May, Kennedy announced COVID-19 vaccines would no longer be recommended for healthy children and pregnant women, a move opposed by medical and public health groups.
He also cancelled $500 million in grants to develop groundbreaking mRNA vaccines.
Kennedy has claimed wins by convincing some food manufacturers to voluntarily agree to replace artificial dyes and other additives in products.
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