Today's News: Politicization of Public Health and Vaccine Policy Under RFK Jr

After abruptly firing CDC Director Susan Monarez and replacing the agency’s vaccine advisory panel with skeptics, Kennedy faced intense questioning from Democratic and Republican Senators.

Terrence Dorsey

Sep 04, 2025

Photo: Shawn Thew/EPA

Date: September 4, 2025
Topic: Controversy and Politicization of Public Health and Vaccine Policy Under HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Summary: Widespread controversy surrounds Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s leadership, particularly his vaccine policies and the turmoil at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Following the abrupt firing of CDC Director Susan Monarez and the replacement of the agency’s vaccine advisory panel with skeptics, Kennedy faced intense questioning from both Democratic and Republican senators during a Senate Finance Committee hearing. Critics, including ousted officials and medical organizations, accuse Kennedy of politicizing science and endangering public health, while Kennedy defends his actions as necessary to reform the CDC and restore public trust.

Sources

Key Points

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is facing intense scrutiny and calls for his resignation due to his controversial public health policies and leadership.
A central point of contention is the firing of CDC Director Susan Monarez, which prompted several senior officials to resign in protest.
Kennedy is widely criticized for undermining vaccine science and politicizing federal health agencies, including replacing the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) with individuals publicly known for vaccine skepticism.
There are significant concerns that Kennedy’s actions are jeopardizing public health by restricting access to vaccines, halting research on life-saving inoculations (including mRNA vaccines), and potentially altering the routine childhood immunization schedule.
Kennedy defends his actions by stating they are necessary to “restore” public confidence in the CDC, address a crisis of chronic disease, and rectify what he perceives as past failures and “nonsensical policies” during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Senate hearings feature heated exchanges, with Democratic senators accusing Kennedy of putting children in “harm’s way” and some Republican senators expressing concern over the CDC turmoil and the impact on vaccine policy, despite general support for the Trump administration.
More than 1,000 current and former Health and Human Services employees have signed a letter calling for Kennedy’s resignation, citing concerns that his policies place American health at risk.

Unique Highlights

The New York Times details whistle-blower complaints filed by Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo and Dr. Kathleen Neuzil, alleging their removal from leadership positions at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) after objecting to Trump administration efforts to undermine vaccines and politicize the grant-making process. The complaints specifically name Dr. Matthew Memoli, the NIH’s principal deputy director, as repeatedly downplaying vaccine value and accuse the NIH of canceling vaccine studies and awarding $500 million to an outdated universal vaccine project without rigorous scientific review.
CNN highlights Florida’s move to end constitutionally upheld vaccine requirements for school children, and three Democratic-run states banding together to offer public health guidelines due to mistrust in federal bodies. It notes that Kennedy’s “Make America Healthy Again” campaign, focusing on diet and exercise, enjoys more support across the medical community than his vaccine views. The article also mentions Trump’s public complaints about not receiving political credit for Operation Warp Speed despite slandering the vaccines, and provides examples of recent measles outbreaks demonstrating the danger of declining vaccination rates.
NBC News specifically cites former CDC Director Susan Monarez’s editorial in The Wall Street Journal, where she detailed being told to preapprove recommendations from the new ACIP panel and her refusal, which she states led to her firing. It also quotes Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, who directed the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, from his resignation letter, expressing his inability to serve in an environment that treats CDC as a “tool to generate policies” not reflecting scientific reality. The article also mentions a shooting at the CDC headquarters, where the gunman blamed a COVID vaccine for his mental health issues.
Fox News provides direct quotes from the heated exchange between Secretary Kennedy and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Or.) during the Senate hearing, including Wyden’s accusation of a “fundamentally cruel” agenda and Kennedy’s retort about the increase in chronic disease among children over the past 20-25 years.
The Washington Post reports Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyoming), the No. 2 Senate Republican leader, expressing concerns as a doctor that “Vaccines work,” while still affirming confidence in the president. The article also quotes Kennedy stating that officials received more reports of errors, injuries, and deaths from the coronavirus vaccine than “all vaccines put together in history.”
The Wall Street Journal features a video with three former CDC officials, including recently resigned Chief Medical Officer Debra Houry, discussing the agency’s future. It also quotes Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) expressing that parents and children “deserve so much better than your leadership,” to which a frustrated Kennedy retorted, “They deserve the truth and that’s what we’re going to give them for the first time in the history of that agency.”

Contrasting Details

RFK Jr.’s Stance on Vaccine Policy: While CNN notes Kennedy promised during his confirmation hearing that he is not anti-vaccine, The New York Times, CNN, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal all report his actions and statements casting doubt on this, including terminating research on some lifesaving vaccines and expressing skepticism about the safety and necessity of certain inoculations. Kennedy, as reported by CNN, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal, defends his actions as necessary to “restore the agency to its role as the world’s gold standard public health agency” and applying “gold standard” science, claiming to address “bureaucratic inertia, politicized science and mission creep.”
Susan Monarez’s Account vs. RFK Jr.’s Denial: NBC News, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal cite former CDC Director Susan Monarez’s Wall Street Journal op-ed, where she claimed she was pressured to preapprove recommendations from the new, vaccine-skeptic ACIP panel and to fire senior staff. During the Senate hearing, as reported by NBC News, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal, Kennedy denied Monarez’s claim, with The Washington Post specifically noting he called her a “liar” but later acknowledged asking her to fire staff members. Monarez’s lawyers, as reported by The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal, stated Kennedy’s claims were “false and, at times, patently ridiculous.”
Effectiveness and Safety of COVID-19 Vaccines: Kennedy (The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal) maintained a critical stance on coronavirus vaccines, claiming more reports of errors, injuries, and deaths than all other vaccines combined. However, he also praised Trump’s Operation Warp Speed (The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal) and acknowledged that the vaccine saved “quite a few” lives, though he declined to say millions. Senators (The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal) highlighted this apparent contradiction, questioning how he could laud the development of vaccines while simultaneously limiting access and ending federal mRNA vaccine development work.
Access to COVID-19 Vaccines: The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal report Kennedy disputing accounts that Americans are facing challenges obtaining the new coronavirus vaccines. However, Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana), as reported by both The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal, accused Kennedy’s department of “effectively, we’re denying people vaccines,” citing confusion and inability to get shots, to which Kennedy responded, “You’re wrong.”

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