In a blistering hearing, Senators from both parties challenged the health secretary to defend his actions, including on vaccines access and CDC leadership.
In a contentious Senate hearing marked by raised voices and heated exchanges, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. faced calls to resign from Democrats and unexpected criticism from Republicans.
Several Republican senators brought up the legacy of President Donald Trump’s Operation Warp Speed, which sent a safe COVID vaccine to the public in record time, helping save millions of lives. They pushed Kennedy to explain his current approach to the shots and mRNA technology.
Under his leadership, the health agency cancelled hundreds of millions of dollars in research funding on mRNA technology for future vaccines, and the Food and Drug Administration limited access to the COVID shots, saying only people at high risk of complications from COVID or those over 65.
« President Trump deserves a Nobel Prize for Operation Warp Speed », said Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Louisiana Republican and physician, whose vote was critical in Kennedy’s confirmation. He demanded Kennedy explain his changing stance on COVID vaccines, and said: « effectively, we’re denying people vaccine » — an assertion echoed by many physicians’ groups including the American Association of Pediatrics and the American Medical Association.
Cassidy had exacted assurances from Kennedy during his confirmation process in February that he would not restrict Americans’ access to vaccines, a promise the senator now accuses Kennedy of violating. Kennedy fired the entire 17-member Advisory Panel on Immunization Practices at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, replacing them with members Cassidy argued are largely unscientific vaccine skeptics with vested financial interests in suing vaccine makers.
