On September 4, 2025, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. found himself at the center of a political and public health firestorm as he testified before the Senate Finance Committee. The hearing, held in the packed Dirksen Senate Office Building, came after a week of dramatic upheaval at the nation’s top health agencies, including the ousting of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Susan Monarez and a cascade of resignations among senior CDC staff. All eyes were on Kennedy as senators from both parties pressed him on his sweeping changes to vaccine policy and the future of public health in the United States.
The hearing opened with Idaho Republican Mike Crapo, the committee’s chairman, promising a "spirited debate" and lauding the administration’s commitment to what he called making America healthy again. Crapo praised Kennedy and President Trump for "placing patients at the center of the healthcare system, empowering them with the tools and information they need to create a healthier future." Yet, the tone quickly turned combative, especially from Democratic lawmakers who accused Kennedy of undermining science and public trust.
Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, the committee’s ranking Democrat, pulled no punches. In his opening statement, Wyden described the country as being "in the midst of a health care calamity," blaming Kennedy’s "unceasing crusade against vaccines" for the recent CDC shake-up. He charged that Kennedy and President Trump had "done so much to feed that mistrust" in public health. Wyden even called for Kennedy’s resignation, stating, "He shouldn’t be within a million miles of this job." Wyden’s concerns were echoed by other Democrats, including Senator Maria Cantwell of Washington, who called Kennedy a "charlatan," and Senator Tina Smith of Minnesota, who demanded his firing.
Republican senators, while generally less confrontational, did not offer Kennedy a free pass. Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, a physician himself, voiced concerns about the CDC leadership changes and vaccine policies. Cassidy, who had previously pressed Kennedy to support vaccines during his confirmation hearings, said, "The issue is about children's health, and there are rumors, allegations, that children's health, which is at issue here, might be endangered by some of the decisions that are purported to be made. I don't know what's true. I know that we need to get there." He called for oversight of Monarez’s ousting and urged for the upcoming CDC vaccine advisory meeting to be postponed until more clarity could be achieved.
The immediate catalyst for the turmoil was the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) decision, just a week prior, to significantly narrow access to the COVID-19 vaccine. The new policy limits eligibility to those aged 65 and older, or younger people with underlying health conditions. This move, widely criticized by public health officials and pharmacist groups, sparked questions about access for healthy young Americans and insurance coverage. It also led directly to the firing of Monarez, who, according to sources cited by ABC News, refused to support Kennedy’s vaccine policy changes or dismiss top CDC officials as he requested.
In his testimony, Kennedy defended the CDC shake-up as "absolutely necessary adjustments to restore the agency to its role as the world's oldest and public health agency, with the central mission of protecting Americans from infectious disease." He blamed the CDC for "failing our responsibility miserably during Covid," arguing that "nonsensical policies destroyed small businesses, violated civil liberties, closed our schools, caused generational damage." Kennedy insisted that the changes were intended to restore gold-standard science and transparency at HHS, and to rebuild trust in public health. "We’re going to tell them what we know, we’re going to tell them what we don’t know, and we’re going to tell them what we’re researching and how we’re doing it and we’re going to be transparent," he said, according to CBS News. "It’s the only way to restore trust in the agency, by making it trustworthy."
But Kennedy’s critics were not convinced. Democrats repeatedly clashed with him throughout the hearing, with Senator Catherine Cortez accusing him of making things up to scare people, prompting Kennedy to retort, "This is crazy talk!" and accuse her of "just making stuff up." Senator Mark Warner of Virginia pressed Kennedy on whether he accepted that a million Americans had died from COVID-19, to which Kennedy replied, "I don't know how many died," citing "data chaos coming out of the CDC." Warner shot back, "You've had this job for eight months and you don't know the data about whether the vaccine saved lives?"
Another major flashpoint was Kennedy’s overhaul of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). In June, Kennedy replaced all 17 sitting members with his own hand-picked selections, some of whom have expressed skepticism about vaccines, especially mRNA COVID-19 shots. He described the "clean sweep" as necessary to "reestablish public confidence in vaccine science." This move, however, drew sharp criticism from both former CDC directors and current lawmakers, who warned that the new panel could endanger routine childhood vaccine recommendations for diseases like measles, mumps, and rubella.
Senator Michael Bennet of Colorado pressed Kennedy on whether parents would still have the same freedom to access vaccines for their children after the new panel’s upcoming recommendations. Kennedy responded, "I think that parents should be free to —" before being interrupted, but ultimately said, "I assume they will be." Yet, the uncertainty left many lawmakers and public health experts uneasy.
Behind the scenes, the unrest within HHS and CDC has been palpable. According to Axios, thousands of CDC staff have resigned or been fired since January, and more than 1,000 current and former HHS workers signed an open letter calling for Kennedy’s resignation, accusing him of "endangering the nation's health." Nine former CDC directors, in a rare joint op-ed, condemned Kennedy’s leadership and the cancellation of $500 million in mRNA vaccine research, warning that his actions were "unlike anything we had ever seen at the agency."
Throughout the hearing, Kennedy maintained that he is not anti-vaccine. During his January 2025 confirmation hearings, he stated, "I am pro-vaccine. I am going to support the vaccine program. I want kids to be healthy, and I'm coming in here to get rid of the conflicts of interest within the agency, make sure that we have gold standard, evidence-based science." When pressed by Senator Wyden, Kennedy reiterated, "Senator, I support the measles vaccine, I support the polio vaccine. I will do nothing as HHS secretary that makes it difficult or discourages people from taking either of those vaccines."
Yet, the CBS News poll released this week found that most Americans believe Kennedy’s policies are making vaccines less available, and there is broad support across party lines for encouraging childhood vaccinations. The political divide remains sharp, but the public’s desire for accessible, evidence-based vaccine policy is clear.
As the hearing adjourned, one thing was unmistakable: the battle over America’s vaccine policy—and the future of its public health leadership—has only just begun.
