HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Photo: Samuel Corum/Getty Images
Addressing the recent shakeups at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as being “absolutely necessary,” HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. defended his record before the Senate Finance Committee on Thursday.
The Senate Finance Committee oversees HHS. The department has been immersed in controversy since Kennedy took office. The latest has been the firing of Center for Disease Control and Prevention Director Susan Monarez last week after reportedly clashing with Kennedy over vaccine policy. Other CDC officials resigned.
Former CDC, National Institutes of Health and HHS staff made public an open letter accusing Kennedy of sowing public mistrust by making false claims and misusing agency data. The signers said that the violence in the recent attack on the CDC by suspected gunman Patrick Joseph White was driven by the secretary's politicized rhetoric and actions.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently narrowed access to the COVID-19 vaccine. In June, Kennedy fired the 17 members of the vaccine advisory panel, the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, began the hearing by saying HHS has prioritized ending waste, fraud and abuse in the Medicare and Medicaid system by putting an end to beneficiaries who are fraudulently enrolled in both programs. This saves taxpayers $14 billion annually, Crapo said.
Ranking member Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, attacked the personnel cuts at HHS, calling them a “healthcare calamity.”
Last week most of the senior leadership at the CDC was fired or resigned after “refusing to bow against Kennedy’s crusade against vaccines,” Wyden said.
Kennedy’s 203 days in office have been a disaster, Wyden said, as Kennedy has elevated conspiracy theories. His primary interest is to take vaccines away from Americans, Crapo said.
Wyden also accused Kennedy of flying on Jeffrey Epstein’s jet on numerous occasions.
It’s in the country’s best interest for Kennedy to step down or to have President Donald Trump fire him, he said.
Kennedy said HHS has been focused on tackling chronic disease due to ultra-processed foods and other causes. It has taken on the removal of food dyes, fluoride in the drinking water and more.
A person in the gallery who shouted at Kennedy when he began to talk about prior authorization was removed from the hearing.
Shakeups at the CDC were “absolutely necessary,” Kennedy said. New blood is needed to remove officials with conflicts of interest, bad judgment and political agendas.
“We need evidenced-based science,” Kennedy said.
Email the writer: SMorse@himss.org