WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock accused Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. of undermining public health and putting the safety of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention employees at risk by his rhetoric and vaccine skepticism.
“You are a hazard to the health of the American people,” Warnock said as he questioned Kennedy. “I think that you ought to resign. And if you don’t resign, the president of the United States — who put forth Operation Warp Speed, which worked — should fire you.”
The contrast between Kennedy’s praise for Trump, whose Operation Warp Speed initiative helped fast track the development of COVID-19 vaccines, and his criticism of those same vaccines was a running theme during Thursday morning’s Senate Finance Committee hearing.
U.S. senators from both sides of the aisle said Kennedy had broken promises he made during his confirmation hearing to follow the science when it comes to vaccines. They said he had instead pushed out career scientists who challenged his point of view.
Credit: NYT
Credit: NYT
Sen. John Barrasso, a Wyoming Republican who is a physician, told Kennedy he was troubled by recent measles outbreaks, withdrawn funding for mRNA vaccine research and the firing of the CDC director after less than a month on the job.
“If we are going to make America healthy again, we can’t allow public health to be undermined,” Barrasso said, making a reference to Kennedy’s tag line.
The secretary during a two-hour hearing defended his decision to limit access to COVID-19 boosters, particularly among healthy adults and children, and said the people he appointed to a vaccine advisory panel were focused on exposing the truth even if their point of view was biased against vaccines.
He accused senators on the panel of twisting his words and ignoring evidence that provided him right and said he was working to restore trust in agencies like the CDC.
“We’re going to do that by telling the truth, and not through propaganda,” Kennedy said.
The scene was chaotic at times.
As Kennedy entered the room at the start of the hearing, supporters waiting in the hallway shouted, “We love you, Bobby!” Healthcare advocates critical of his leadership wore “Fire RFK!” patches on white lab coats.
As Kennedy delivered opening remarks, a woman began shouting at him from the audience and was escorted out by police. He got into several arguments with senators, calling them liars and accusing them of “making stuff up.”
“Sir, you’re a charlatan. That’s what you are,” Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., told him during one exchange. “You conflate chronic disease with the need for vaccines.”
Credit: NYT
Credit: NYT
Before the hearing began, The Wall Street Journal published an op-ed from Susan Monarez, the fired CDC director. Just a week into her tenure, a man who had expressed distrust in vaccines opened fire on the CDC headquarters in Atlanta. DeKalb County Officer David Rose was killed when he responded to the scene.
In the op-ed, Monarez said she was forced out after refusing to comply with a directive from Kennedy that she preapprove recommendations from the new vaccine advisory panel. She said she would not commit to agreeing with the panel without rigorous evaluation of their findings.
“Parents deserve a CDC they can trust to put children above politics, evidence above ideology and facts above fear,” Monarez wrote. “I was fired for holding that line.”
Kennedy told the Senate committee that Monarez was lying about their conversations.
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff and other congressional Democrats echoed calls for Kennedy’s resignation during a news conference before the hearing. Ossoff said the CDC was too important of an agency to leave someone in charge who he believes is sewing chaos and discord.
“It is out of control, and every day this continues, more and more Americans are put at risk by Mr. Kennedy’s radical and incoherent ideology,” Ossoff said.
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