Republicans and Democrats grill RFK Jr. in heated hearing
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the US Health Secretary, testified in a Senate hearing today, facing criticism over his anti-vaccine stance and controversial decisions such as the dismissal of the entire vaccine committee and the reduction of research funding.
The hearing was described as fiery, with several Republican senators expressing disapproval of Kennedy's stance but stopping short of joining their Democratic colleagues in calling for his resignation. Senator Bill Cassidy, a physician, was among those critical, telling Kennedy that it surprised him that he praised Operation Warp Speed after working to restrict access to the vaccine.
Senator Maggie Hassan, Democrat of New Hampshire, was one of the senators involved in an exchange with Kennedy. She questioned him about his refusal to acknowledge that the FDA's approval of the COVID-19 booster limits who can get it. Kennedy responded by accusing some senators of making things up and lying during the hearing.
Elizabeth Warren, Democrat from Massachusetts, also questioned Kennedy during the hearing. She grilled him about his decision to cancel $500 million in contracts using the mRNA vaccine platform that was critical to Operation Warp Speed.
In a pre-hearing op-ed published in The Wall Street Journal, Susan Monarez, the CDC director who was fired, criticised Kennedy's actions. More than a thousand HHS employees and public health organizations have signed a letter calling for Kennedy's resignation.
However, there are no signs that Kennedy plans to resign. Senator Cassidy, who cast one of the key votes to confirm Kennedy as health secretary, has been reticent to publicly hold him to account. Kennedy also refused to concede that COVID vaccines saved millions of lives.
President Trump still supports Kennedy and is giving him leeway to upend federal health policy in all sorts of different ways. NPR health policy correspondent Selena Simmons-Duffin, who watched the hearing closely, reports that there are no signs that Kennedy plans to respond to the letter.
