Both Republicans and Democrats clash with RFK Jr. on vaccines, CDC turmoil
"We're denying people vaccines," Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy told Kennedy.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. faced a grilling before the Senate Finance Committee on Thursday from both Republican and Democratic lawmakers.
Over nearly three hours of questioning, he defended his controversial views on vaccines and the ouster of Susan Monarez as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Key Headlines
- GOP senators sidestep when asked if they still have confidence in RFK Jr.
- Contentious hearing ends after nearly 3 hours
- Sanders presses Kennedy on his accusations against major medical groups
- Kennedy claims Monarez said she was 'not trustworthy'
- Sanders suggests he'll call on Susan Monarez to testify before HELP Committee
Warner, Kennedy have heated exchange over COVID deaths
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.
GOP's Cassidy says, 'We're denying people vaccines'
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."
Democratic senator to RFK Jr.: 'You're a charlatan'
Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell picked up the questioning from Cassidy and continued to scrutinize Kennedy's stance and actions concerning vaccines.
The Washington senator brought up a chart showing the number of deaths following the introduction of vaccines since the 20th century.
"You're a charlatan. That's what you are. You're the ones who conflate chronic disease with the need for vaccines," she said.
"You are perpetrating hoaxes," Cantwell later added.
Cassidy expresses concerns over ACIP members' conflicts of interest
Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Republican from Louisiana, whose vote was crucial in confirming Kennedy, expressed concerns over conflicts of interest among new members of the CDC's vaccine advisory committee.
In June, Kennedy removed all 17 sitting members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) and replaced them with his own hand-picked members, many of whom have expressed vaccine-skeptic views.
"What I am concerned about is that many of those who you've nominated for ACIP have received revenue as serving as expert witnesses for plaintiffs, attorneys, suing vaccine makers," Cassidy said.
Cassidy continued, "Now, one of my colleagues in another setting alleged that you seem more interested in settlements than science. If we put people who are paying witnesses for vaccine, people suing vaccines, that actually seems like a conflict of interest real quickly. Do you agree with that?"
Kennedy disagreed saying it may be a "bias" but not a conflict of interest.