Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. faced sharp criticism from Senate Republicans over his handling of vaccines and leadership changes at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Kennedy appeared before the Senate Finance Committee on Thursday in a session originally intended to discuss President Donald Trump’s healthcare agenda. Instead, the hearing became a heated debate over Kennedy’s vaccine policies and recent firings at the CDC.
Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, a physician, told Kennedy he had lost confidence in his leadership. “I support vaccines. I’m a doctor. Vaccines work,” Barrasso said, pointing to recent measles outbreaks and the dismissal of CDC Director Susan Monarez. “Americans don’t know who to rely on.”
Kennedy defended his actions, saying his goal was to make guidance “clear, evidence-based and trustworthy for the first time in history.” His overhaul of the CDC included removing senior officials, reshaping the federal vaccine advisory panel, and cancelling $500 million in mRNA vaccine contracts.
Sen. Bill Cassidy, another Republican doctor and chair of the Senate health committee, warned that Kennedy’s decisions appeared to conflict with support for Operation Warp Speed, the Trump-era programme that accelerated vaccine development during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cassidy also raised concerns over potential conflicts of interest, noting that some of Kennedy’s appointees to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices had previously served as expert witnesses in lawsuits against vaccine makers.
Kennedy rejected that view, insisting such backgrounds did not amount to a conflict of interest.
Not all Republican doctors opposed him. Sen. Roger Marshall of Kansas, a longtime ally, defended Kennedy against accusations of being anti-vaccine. “Saying I’m anti-vaccine is like saying I’m anti-medicine,” Kennedy responded. “Some medicines have risks, some have benefits, and that’s true with vaccines.”
The clash highlights growing divisions in Washington over vaccine policy, transparency, and the future direction of the CDC under Kennedy’s leadership.
