Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s shakeup of public health policy is facing backlash from some Senate Republicans who voted to confirm him to President Trump's Cabinet.
Kennedy's sudden firing of Susan Monarez as the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was condemned by Bill Cassidy (R-LA), who was a key vote for Kennedy to lead the Health and Human Services Department.
Cassidy is now sharing second thoughts, saying the government's vaccine recommendations can no longer be trusted because of Kennedy's recent moves and turmoil at the CDC.
The senator was echoed by Sen. Susan Collins (R), of Maine, who expressed "alarm" at Monarez's firing less than a month into her job, calling her a "highly capable scientist who brought a wealth of experience to the agency."
Monarez's firing was reportedly prompted by her refusal to endorse Kennedy's vaccine policies, with Monarez's lawyers saying she chose "protecting the public over serving a political agenda." The White House says Monarez was fired for failing to support President Trump's priorities.
"As her attorney's statement makes abundantly clear, Susan Monarez is not aligned with the president's agenda," the White House said.
Four top CDC officials have also resigned in protest after Monarez's dramatic firing, which came after months of tensions surrounding Kennedy's reforms, particularly concerning vaccines.
His critics accuse him of conducting a dangerous coup against established science, but Kennedy, a longtime vaccine skeptic, says he is fighting a corrupt system that prioritizes profits for Big Pharma.
Kennedy purged an influential vaccine panel, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), earlier this year and replaced its members with people sympathetic to his views -- and he has restricted access to COVID-19 shots to include primarily those with higher risk, ending the emergency authorization that allowed most people to easily get them.
In the wake of Kennedy's shakeup of the CDC, Cassidy has called for a September 18 meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices to be postponed indefinitely, saying the panel's recommendations would “directly impact children’s health."
The meeting will cover vaccines for COVID-19, hepatitis B, RSV, measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella.
"Serious allegations have been made about the meeting agenda, membership, and lack of scientific process being followed for the now announced September ACIP meeting,” Cassidy said in a statement.
“If the meeting proceeds, any recommendations should be rejected as lacking legitimacy given the seriousness of the allegations and the current turmoil in the CDC leadership,” he said.
