US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr came under heavy fire in the Senate on Thursday after defending his decision to dismiss Sue Monarez, the former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Her ousting, along with a wave of resignations and job cuts, has plunged the nation’s top health agency into turmoil. Kennedy described the firing as "absolutely necessary," asserting that the CDC had failed throughout the pandemic with "disastrous and nonsensical" masking, distancing, and school closure policies.
The Senate hearing soon degenerated into shouting fits. Democrats blamed Kennedy for dismantling America's public health system and called for his resignation. Senator Ron Wyden, fronting the attack, called on President Donald Trump to sack Kennedy in case he declines to resign, accusing him of lying during previous testimony. Democratic Senator Maria Cantwell went so far as labelling him a "charlatan" for undermining vaccine studies.
Republicans generally, though, came to Kennedy's defense, with Senate Finance Committee chairman Mike Crapo commending his emphasis on chronic disease. Cracks nevertheless showed in the GOP. Republican Senators Bill Cassidy, John Barrasso, and Thom Tillis openly disapproved of his firing federal support for mRNA research technology responsible for saving millions of lives.
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Kennedy, previously an environmental attorney who became a vocal anti-vaccination activist, has had a long history of controversy. Since being sworn into office during Trump's second term, he has limited Covid-19 vaccinations to specific groups, withdrawn funding for mRNA research, and allocated funds to disproven theories proposed by scientists. He even explained to lawmakers his rationale for terminating Monarez was that, when questioned whether she was reliable, she responded, "No."
At the hearing, Kennedy complimented former President Trump, stating that he had earned a Nobel Prize for Operation Warp Speed, the project that had speeded up vaccine production. Almost simultaneously, however, he came to the defense of hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin treatments discredited long ago in the war against Covid.
Monarez, in an op-ed published in the Wall Street Journal, denounced Kennedy for making a "deliberate effort to undermine America's public health infrastructure and vaccine defenses." As the CDC is in chaos, opponents worry that Kennedy's policies will leave the US perilously vulnerable to future health emergencies. Defenders contend his administration is a long-overdue course correction to decades of mishandling. Either way, the fight over vaccines and public health does not appear to be cooling anytime soon.
