Tempers flared and accusations flew on September 4, 2025, as U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. faced a heated Senate Finance Committee hearing examining his tumultuous seven-month tenure. The session, which stretched for three hours, was marked by fierce exchanges, partisan frustration, and a barrage of questions over Kennedy’s controversial actions and statements on vaccines, rural health funding, and public health leadership. What unfolded was a rare, unsparing look at the deep divisions now shaping America’s public health policy at the highest levels.
According to the Associated Press, Kennedy made a series of false and misleading claims throughout the hearing, often ignoring established data and twisting legislative facts. On the topic of COVID-19 vaccines, Kennedy hedged when asked if millions of American lives had been saved, stating, “The only confusion I expressed is exactly how many lives were saved. I don't think anybody knows that.” This assertion ran counter to a mountain of scientific evidence. A 2024 World Health Organization study found that COVID-19 vaccines reduced deaths in Europe by at least 57%, saving more than 1.4 million lives since December 2020. Similarly, a 2022 Lancet Infectious Diseases study estimated that nearly 20 million lives were saved globally in the first year of vaccine rollout, including 1.9 million in the United States alone.
CDC data from the 2024-2025 season further confirmed the vaccines’ impact, showing 33% effectiveness against emergency or urgent care visits for adults over 18, and 45%-46% effectiveness against hospitalizations among immunocompetent adults 65 and older. Despite these findings, Kennedy continued to cast doubt, refusing to confirm the widely accepted figure of approximately 1.2 million American COVID-19 deaths, citing “data chaos” at the CDC.
The hearing also spotlighted Kennedy’s handling of COVID-19 booster shots. He claimed, “Anybody can get the booster,” yet the reality is far more complicated. The FDA has approved updated shots only for seniors or those with underlying health risks, and access often hinges on state laws, insurance coverage, and provider willingness. As AP noted, while Kennedy acknowledged that booster access “depends on the state” and is “not recommended for healthy people,” the confusion has left many Americans uncertain about their eligibility.
Senators from both parties pressed Kennedy on his shifting stance toward vaccines. During his confirmation process in January, Kennedy had assured lawmakers, “I believe that vaccines play a critical role in health care, all of my kids are vaccinated.” Yet, as reported by Politico, he had previously said, “What would I do if I could go back in time, and I could avoid giving my children the vaccines that I gave them? I would do anything for that, I would pay anything to be able to do that.” When confronted with these conflicting statements, Kennedy replied, “Both things are true,” a response that only deepened skepticism among committee members.
Perhaps the most contentious issue was Kennedy’s recent actions regarding the CDC and vaccine policy. In May, he unilaterally revoked the CDC’s recommendation that pregnant women and children receive the COVID-19 vaccine, arguing, “Based on a review of the recommendation … I have determined that the known risks of using the COVID vaccine in those populations outweigh the purported benefits.” This move directly contradicted his earlier promises to defer to scientific experts. Just weeks later, Kennedy abruptly fired all 17 members of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), replacing them with vaccine skeptics and individuals lacking backgrounds in immunology or vaccinology. He justified the firings by citing alleged conflicts of interest among the previous members, but as he told senators, “It may be a bias, and that bias, if disclosed, is okay, but it’s not a financial conflict of interest.”
The shake-up didn’t stop there. In late August, Kennedy fired CDC Director Susan Monarez after she refused to preapprove the recommendations of the newly constituted vaccine advisory panel. Monarez wrote in the Wall Street Journal that she was asked to “preapprove the recommendations of a vaccine advisory panel newly filled with people who have publicly expressed antivaccine rhetoric,” calling the move “sabotage.” Several senior CDC officials resigned in protest, and public health advocates warned that Kennedy’s actions were undermining trust in the nation’s health institutions.
Further fueling controversy, Kennedy canceled more than $500 million in contracts for developing messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines, ended the CDC’s program promoting seasonal flu vaccination, and terminated over $1 billion in U.S. funding to a global vaccination organization responsible for immunizing hundreds of millions of children worldwide. According to Politico, these decisions have sent shockwaves through the public health community, with experts warning of lasting consequences for vaccine access and disease prevention.
Kennedy’s approach to the recent measles outbreak in Texas provided another flashpoint. He initially downplayed the outbreak, describing it as “not unusual,” despite it resulting in the first reported measles death in a decade. He promoted unapproved alternative remedies such as cod liver oil and vitamin A supplements, saying in a Fox News interview that doctors using these treatments had seen “almost miraculous and instantaneous recovery.” However, there are no FDA-approved therapies for measles, and vitamin A, while sometimes used in severe cases in developing countries, does not prevent infection. The promotion of such alternatives led to a run on vitamin A and cod liver oil in Texas, and doctors reported cases of vitamin A toxicity in children—an outcome that alarmed local health officials.
Senators also grilled Kennedy over his claims about the childhood vaccination schedule. He asserted that “today’s children have to get between 69 and 92 vaccines in order to be fully compliant,” and that “only one of those vaccines has been tested against a placebo.” The facts, as outlined by the AP, are quite different: the current schedule recommends protection against 18 diseases, with the number of shots varying, and all vaccines have undergone rigorous safety and efficacy testing, including placebo-controlled trials.
Rural health care funding was another area where Kennedy’s statements drew scrutiny. He boasted of a new bill allocating $10 billion annually for rural hospitals, claiming this represented a more than 50% increase in funding. However, the legislation also slashes $1.2 trillion from the federal budget over the next decade, primarily from Medicaid. Estimates suggest rural hospitals could lose between $58 billion and $137 billion due to these cuts, with 10 million Americans expected to lose health insurance—most of them on Medicaid. As many as one in four rural Americans rely on Medicaid, making these provisions particularly devastating for already struggling hospitals.
Republican senators were divided in their criticism. While some, like Sen. Bill Cassidy and Sen. John Barrasso, expressed deep concern over Kennedy’s actions and the apparent contradiction with his confirmation promises, others remained supportive or silent. President Donald Trump, who nominated Kennedy, dismissed the controversy, saying, “He’s got a different take, and we want to listen to all those things.”
As the hearing drew to a close, the future of America’s vaccine policy and public health infrastructure seemed more uncertain than ever. The sharp divisions on display underscored the stakes: with trust in public health already battered by years of pandemic turmoil, the direction set by the nation’s top health official will have consequences that ripple far beyond Washington.
