Both Republicans and Democrats clash with RFK Jr. on vaccines, CDC turmoil

Kennedy, in an exchange with Democratic Sen. Mark Warner, said there are "no cuts to Medicaid" in the sweeping Trump spending cut and tax bill.

"That is absurd," Warner responded.

The megabill passed by Republicans in Congress in early July includes $1 trillion in cuts to Medicaid and Medicare spending. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated the law will result in 10 million Americans losing health insurance over the next decade, with more than 7 million people expected to lose Medicaid coverage.

Congressional Democrats who are not on the Senate panel continued their calls for Kennedy to resign or be fired.

"I hope that my Republican colleagues, especially those who believed RFK Jr. would follow the science, admit that they were wrong and join us to protect our constituents," Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin said at a news conference.

Democratic Sen. Angela Alsobrooks called Kennedy a "clear and present danger to the American people."

-ABC News' Allison Pecorin

Sen. Mark Warner, a Democrat from Virginia, had a heated exchange with Kennedy over how many Americans died from COVID-19.

"Do you accept the fact that a million Americans died from COVID?" Warner asked.

"I don't know how many died," Kennedy replied.

"You're the Secretary of Health and Human Services,” Warner said. "You don't have any idea how many Americans died from COVID?"

"I don't think anybody knows, because there was so much chaos coming out of the CDC," Kennedy continued.

Data on the CDC’s website, which is publicly available, shows that at least 1,231,440 deaths related to COVID-19 have been reported in the U.S. since 2020.

Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy, a longtime physician whose vote was critical in Kennedy's ascension to HHS secretary, read out emails he received from people who say they've had difficulty accessing vaccines. Cassidy submitted the emails to the record.

"I would say, effectively, we're denying people vaccines," Cassidy said as he ended his questioning of Kennedy.

Kennedy responded, "You're wrong."