RFK Jr. faces bipartisan heat in Senate hearing
The health secretary defended his leadership amid CDC turmoil and deflected questions about the restricted availability of vaccines


What happened
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. faced sharp questioning Thursday while testifying before the Senate Finance Committee. He defended his leadership amid turmoil at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, blamed former CDC Director Susan Monarez for her recent firing and deflected questions about the restricted availability of key vaccines.
Who said what
Kennedy was "remarkably combative and dismissive" during three hours of testimony, "refusing to budge from his stance on vaccines, autism, Medicaid and the CDC," said The New York Times. The hearing was "punctuated with heated back-and-forth exchanges," with Kennedy "effectively getting into shouting matches" with several lawmakers.
The health secretary faced "sharp questioning from both Democrats and Republicans" and endured "bipartisan criticism" for his work limiting vaccine availability, said The Wall Street Journal. Although he "rejected assertions that he was taking vaccines away," senators "pointed to examples of immunocompromised people being denied Covid vaccines under new federal limits on who can get them." Kennedy also "claimed, wrongly," that officials at the CDC "failed to do anything" about Covid during the 2020 pandemic, said The Associated Press.
What next?
The hearing showed that Republican support for Kennedy is "starting to waver" on Capitol Hill, Politico said, possibly "driven by an August memo from Trump's longtime pollster" showing that "the overwhelming majority of voters support vaccines." As Kennedy advances "antivaccine policies at the federal level," the Journal said, CDC employees are "torn on the agency's future and their own."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Rafi Schwartz has worked as a politics writer at The Week since 2022, where he covers elections, Congress and the White House. He was previously a contributing writer with Mic focusing largely on politics, a senior writer with Splinter News, a staff writer for Fusion's news lab, and the managing editor of Heeb Magazine, a Jewish life and culture publication. Rafi's work has appeared in Rolling Stone, GOOD and The Forward, among others.
-
Gunman kills 1 detainee, wounds 2 at ICE facility
Speed Read A sniper shot three detainees at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office before fatally shooting himself
-
Trump DOJ reportedly rushing to indict Comey
Speed Read Former FBI Director James Comey oversaw the initial 2016 investigation into ties between the Trump campaign and Russia
-
‘Transparency remains essential’
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Gunman kills 1 detainee, wounds 2 at ICE facility
Speed Read A sniper shot three detainees at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office before fatally shooting himself
-
Trump DOJ reportedly rushing to indict Comey
Speed Read Former FBI Director James Comey oversaw the initial 2016 investigation into ties between the Trump campaign and Russia
-
Man convicted of trying to assassinate Trump
Speed Read Ryan Routh tried to shoot President Donald Trump at his West Palm Beach golf course last September
-
Democrat wins Arizona seat, aiding Epstein drive
Speed Read Democrat Adelita Grijalva beat Republican businessman Daniel Butierez for the House seat in Arizona
-
Trump says Ukraine can win, UN nations ‘going to hell’
Speed Read In a speech to the United Nations General Assembly, the president criticized the UN and renewable energy, plus made a sudden pivot on the war in Ukraine
-
Trump DOJ shut bribery case against ally Homan
Speed read The Justice Department closed a bribery investigation into President Donald Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan
-
Charlie Kirk honored as ‘martyr’ at memorial rally
Speed Read At a service for the slain conservative activist, speakers included President Donald Trump and many top administration officials
-
Judge says DOJ misled to deport Guatemalan kids
Speed read The Trump administration was barred from deporting hundreds of Guatemalan children