Vaccines center stage as RFK Jr. testifies at fiery Senate hearing

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. faced aggressive partisan criticisms on Thursday while presenting the Trump administration’s 2026 healthcare agenda to the Senate Finance Committee. Chairman Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, opened the three-hour hearing by acknowledging the expectation of spirited debate.

Just before convening, Democratic committee members released a joint statement calling for Kennedy’s resignation. The coalition described Kennedy as unfit for the job and accused him of endangering American lives by pushing what they characterized as health disinformation. The day before, over 1,000 current and former Health and Human Services employees signed a letter demanding Kennedy’s resignation, also alleging that his leadership threatened Americans’ health.

The hearing also coincided with The Wall Street Journal’s publication of an op-ed by former CDC Director Susan Monarez, who claimed she was fired for refusing to blindly approve recommendations from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. Kennedy overhauled the committee in June, firing all 17 members and appointing replacements, some of whom are not ardent supporters of vaccinations. Monarez said she was instructed to preapprove the panel’s recommendations weeks in advance, and was fired when she refused.

What did Kennedy say? Kennedy’s opening comments described the Trump administration running the busiest and most proactive HHS in history. The administration has taken on food dyes, e-cigarettes, animal testing, sickle cell anemia, hepatitis C, excessive screen time, and more in less than a year, he said. Kennedy also emphasized the administration’s crusade against chronic illnesses and overmedication.

He described the recent wave of firings at the CDC as necessary adjustments to restore the agency’s gold standard in public health. The previous CDC failed to protect Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic with swaths of unscientific and oppressive interventions, Kennedy added. The agency needs new blood, free of political agendas and biases, he added. The health secretary reiterated his concern over the safety of the COVID-19 vaccines and boosters, prompting multiple heated discussions around COVID-19 and mRNA vaccines. Kennedy also insisted he had no plans to make vaccines inaccessible to people, and repeatedly denied the claims Monarez made in her op-ed.

On Mifepristone: Kennedy spoke on the safety review of the chemical abortion drug mifepristone, saying he did not know when the review would be released. The study is progressing with new data all the time, he told Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla. Officials learned that the Biden administration actually warped data to bury one of the potential risks of the drug, Kennedy said. The secretary later promised Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., that he would assign the best scientists to return an unbiased review of the abortion drug’s safety.

Dig deeper: Read Lauren Canterberry’s report for more background on Monarez’s removal after less than a month after her appointment.