More than 1,000 HHS staffers call on Trump to fire RFK Jr.
Ahead of the hearing, more than 1,000 current and former HHS employees penned an open letter on Wednesday calling for Kennedy to either resign or be fired.
The letter — whose signatories were not publicly named — accused Kennedy of “endangering the nation’s health.” It cited last week’s upheaval at the CDC, the Food and Drug Administration’s decision to rescind emergency approvals that made the COVID-19 vaccines available for young children and the elevation of what they called “political ideologues who pose as scientific experts” to key vaccine approval posts.
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Senators on Finance Committee preview their questions for Kennedy
Members of the Senate Finance Committee previewed their questions for Kennedy to reporters this week, with some expressing concern about the recent CDC departures and others offering support for Kennedy.
Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican, told reporters Wednesday that he shares the concerns that Cassidy has expressed. “I need to know why his actions aren’t matching up, or why his words in the confirmation hearing aren’t matching up with some of the deeds,” he said.
Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, the ranking Democrat on the Finance Committee, said he wants to hear from Kennedy that “vaccine access is what he wants.”
“What he told the committee during the hearing is very different from what he’s done,” Wyden said, referring to Kennedy’s confirmation hearing in February.
GOP Sen. Roger Marshall of Kansas said he’s hoping to give Kennedy a “chance to tell his story and his motivations, rather than jumping off the Democrat narrative, which is just wrapped around the axles on vaccines, like that’s the only thing in life that matters.”
Sen. Ron Johnson, a Wisconsin Republican, told CBS News: “I fully support what he and President Trump are doing trying to restore integrity and credibility to the federal health agencies and to science.”
Thune says “we need stability” after CDC director’s ouster
When asked what he hopes to hear from Kennedy at the hearing, Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters Wednesday that “we need stability” following the CDC director’s ouster from her role less than a month after the Senate confirmed her to lead the public health agency. The CDC is part of HHS.
“We go through all the work and confirm somebody to one of these important posts, and then a month later they’re gone,” Thune said. “We need stability. He’s in charge of the department, and he needs to restore public trust in the CDC.”
Thune added that “whoever ends up in that position, it shouldn’t be disqualifying to be in support or in favor of vaccines.” CBS News reported last week that Jim O’Neill, the deputy secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, has been selected to serve as the acting director of the CDC.
Former CDC directors slam Kennedy in op-ed
Nine former CDC directors penned an op-ed earlier this week condemning Kennedy’s leadership in the aftermath of the firing of the CDC director last week, claiming he is “endangering every American’s health.”
In their op-ed, the former CDC directors who served under both Democrat and Republican administrations, pointed to a number of decisions by Kennedy that they say are “unlike anything we had ever seen at the agency,” including canceling investments into medical research and the move to replace members on a key vaccine advisory committee, among other things.
“Firing Dr. Monarez — which led to the resignations of top CDC officials — adds considerable fuel to this raging fire,” the former CDC directors added.
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