U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will appear before a congressional committee Thursday, where he’s expected to face questions about turmoil at federal health agencies.
The U.S. Senate Finance Committee has called Kennedy to a hearing about his plans to “Make America Healthy Again.” But the health secretary is expected to face questions about layoffs and planned budget cuts that detractors say are wrecking the nation’s ability to prevent disease.
Kennedy recently fired Susan Monarez, a longtime government scientist he installed as the CDC director for less than a month and has sought to reshape the nation’s vaccine policies to match his long-standing suspicions about the safety and effectiveness of long-established shots.
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High-ranking Democrat says RFK Jr. must ‘answer to the public’
In a statement last week, U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon — the highest ranking Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee — said, “It is more imperative than ever that Kennedy answer to the public and their representatives about the chaos, confusion, and harm his actions are inflicting on American families.”
Kennedy’s track record as health secretary
In May, Kennedy — a longtime leader in the anti-vaccine movement — announced COVID-19 vaccines would no longer be recommended for healthy children and pregnant women, a move opposed by medical and public health groups.
In June, he abruptly disbanded a panel of experts that had been advising the government on vaccine policy. He replaced them with a handpicked group that included several vaccine skeptics, and then shut the door to several doctors’ groups that had long helped form the committee’s recommendations.
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