Sen. Maria Cantwell, a Democrat from Washington, says Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is „not following the science,“ like he said he would during his confirmation hearings earlier this year.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. faced fierce questioning from members of both parties during a Senate Finance Committee hearing Thursday, including sharp criticism from Sen. Maria Cantwell, a Democrat from Washington, who called him a „charlatan.“
Cantwell criticized Kennedy’s decision to cancel hundreds of millions in research funding for future mRNA vaccines, saying the research was needed for future pandemic preparedness.
Kennedy responded to Cantwell saying „I’m happy to have a detailed discussion with you about it. You’re so wrong on your facts.“
But even Republicans took Kennedy to task for the defunding of mRNA vaccine research. Kennedy has come under intense scrutiny from Democrats and the medical science community for actions taken since the start of the second Trump administration, including firing the entire vaccine advisory panel at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Earlier this year, the newly appointed panel revealed plans to study the safety of some childhood vaccines — a move that some health professionals worry is meant to question decades of vaccine safety research.
During a contentious three-hour hearing, Kennedy defended changes made at the CDC saying they were „necessary adjustments to restore the agency to its role as the world’s gold standard public health agency.“
In an interview with Morning Edition, Cantwell accused Kennedy of „not following the science.“
She continued: „We just can’t have a health care system being undermined by the chief architect of what our health care delivery system should look like.“
Speaking to NPR’s Michel Martin, Cantwell discussed the Senate hearing and why she is worried about the direction of health care in the U.S. under Kennedy’s direction.
