RFK Jr. defends CDC firings at heated Senate hearing as senators from both parties press him on vaccines

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. defended his overhaul of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention during a heated hearing before the Senate Finance Committee on Thursday, September 4, 2025. The roughly three-hour session came about a week after the firing of CDC Director Susan Monarez and the resignations of several senior CDC officials.

“We are the sickest country in the world, that’s why we have to fire people at CDC,” Kennedy told senators, according to Axios.

Kennedy defends the CDC shake-up

In his opening statement, Kennedy said the CDC had “failed that responsibility miserably during COVID,” according to CBS News. He said the people at the agency “who put masks on our children, who closed our schools” are “the people who will be leaving,” and described the changes as “absolutely necessary adjustments to restore the agency to its role as the world’s gold standard public health agency.”

Kennedy also said that Monarez had not told the truth in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece in which she wrote that she was fired for refusing to endorse vaccine recommendations from his advisory panel without scientific review. Monarez’s account and Kennedy’s account of their final meeting differ.

Questions about vaccine policy

Much of the hearing focused on the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), the panel that advises the CDC on vaccine schedules. In June 2025, Kennedy removed all 17 of its members and appointed new ones. “I didn’t politicize ACIP, I depoliticized it,” he said at the hearing.

Senators raised concerns about an upcoming ACIP meeting that could narrow some vaccine recommendations. Kennedy said he did not “anticipate” changes to measles vaccine recommendations.

Kennedy also argued that the American Academy of Pediatrics and other medical groups are influenced by pharmaceutical industry funding. Axios noted that he made the claim without providing evidence.

Criticism from both parties

Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), a physician, said, “I’ve grown deeply concerned,” pointing to measles outbreaks and the firing at the CDC. “There are real concerns that safe, proven vaccines like measles, hepatitis B and others could be in jeopardy,” he said.

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), also a physician, questioned the cancellation of $500 million in mRNA vaccine research grants, saying it “seems like a commentary upon what the president did in Operation Warp Speed.”

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), the committee’s top Democrat, called on Kennedy to resign. “Families are confused,” Wyden said, according to CBS News. “They’re scared about who to trust about their health care.”

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) challenged Kennedy’s claims about medical organizations, suggesting that in Kennedy’s view, “everybody but you” is corrupt.

Background

Before joining the Trump administration, Kennedy was a longtime critic of federal health agencies and the pharmaceutical industry, including through his organization, Children’s Health Defense. He has questioned the safety of several vaccines, views that are disputed by the large majority of medical and scientific experts. He ran for president in 2024 before ending his campaign and endorsing Donald Trump, who later nominated him to lead HHS.

Supporters say Kennedy is right to push for change at agencies they believe lost public trust during the COVID-19 pandemic. Critics, including many public health experts, argue that his actions risk undermining confidence in vaccines and destabilizing the CDC.

What comes next

The fight over the CDC’s leadership and vaccine policy is expected to continue in Congress, with lawmakers from both parties calling for further oversight of HHS and the CDC’s vaccine advisory process.