WASHINGTON — Robert F Kennedy Jr. faced calls to step down as health secretary during a Senate hearing on Capitol Hill where he was accused of letting “conspiracy theorists, crackpots and grifters” determine the US vaccine policy.
Kennedy appeared yesterday before the Senate finance committee to testify on his Make America Healthy Again agenda after a tumultuous few weeks that ended with more than 1,000 current and former health agency employees accusing him of “putting the health of all Americans at risk”.
Both Democrats and Republicans pushed Kennedy's on his recent vaccine policies and staff firings.
Thorvardur de Shong
Much of the hearing Thursday revolved around RFK Jr.’s decision to fire every member of the CDC’s Advisory Committee of Immunization Practices (ACIP) in June and subsequently pick his own personal appointees.
Oregon senator Ron Wyden, the panel’s top Democrat, described Kennedy’s eight-month tenure as being marked by “chaos”.
Over Kennedy’s 203 days in office, “every single day, there’s been an action that endangers the health and wellness of American families”, Wyden said. “Robert Kennedy has elevated conspiracy theorists, crackpots and grifters to make life-or-death decisions about Americans’ healthcare.”
Some Republican senators also expressed unease with his changes to COVID-19 policies. “I can’t tell where you are on Operation Warp Speed,” said Republican North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis.
