RFK Jr. faces grilling over vaccines, staff turmoil at Senate hearing

Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News on Sep 4, 2025

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Thursday faced harsh grilling from a congressional committee over his effort to upend vaccine policy and widespread turmoil at federal health agencies on his watch.

Kennedy fended off brutal bipartisan questioning from the senators 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.

“We are the sickest country in the world. That’s why we have to fire people at the CDC,” Kennedy said. “They did not do their job. This was their job to keep us healthy.”

He praised President Donald Trump for spearheading Operation Warp Speed that created the COVID-19 vaccine, but questioned whether the life-saving shots actually helped end the pandemic

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., countered by accusing Kennedy of overseeing a disastrous 203-day reign over America’s public health agencies.

“Robert Kennedy has elevated conspiracy theorists, crackpots and grifters to make life-or-death decisions about Americans’ health care,” Wyden said.

“You are a charlatan,” added Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash.

Kennedy, long one of the nation’s most prominent vaccine skeptics, was also roasted over 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.

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 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.”

Kennedy denied Monarez’s claim that he ordered her to preapprove the recommendations of his handpicked anti-vaxxer officials.

More than 1,000 past and current Health and Human Services staffers have signed a petition calling on Kennedy to step down.

Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., the chair of the health panel and perhaps the most closely watched lawmaker, joined Democrats in pointed quizzing of Kennedy, especially over the COVID vaccines and his efforts to restrict access to the life-saving shots.

“You just (said) the COVID vaccine killed more people than COVID,” Cassidy charged, a claim Kennedy denied.

Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., sought in vain to get Kennedy to accept scientific evidence that at least 3 million American lives were saved by the COVID vaccine.

“You’re making stuff up to scare people,” Kennedy retorted.

Cassidy 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,

“That committee (was) pervaded with conflicts of interest,” Kennedy said, charging that the members were in the pocket of Big Pharma.

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 canceled $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.

_____