Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. faced a bruising, multi-hour Senate hearing that featured bipartisan questioning, public criticism of his management of federal health agencies and calls from some lawmakers for his resignation.
Senators pressed Kennedy on a string of policy decisions and personnel moves that have roiled the Department of Health and Human Services and its principal agencies, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration. Questions centered on vaccine policy and access, the recent ouster of the CDC director and multiple resignations by senior agency officials, and the department’s scaling back of mRNA vaccine programs intended to guard against emerging respiratory viruses.
The hearing, held on Capitol Hill, amplified concerns about the stability and direction of federal public‑health institutions. Kennedy has drawn scrutiny since taking the post, and senators from both parties repeatedly sought explanations for actions they said undermined confidence in the agencies responsible for pandemic preparedness and routine public‑health programs.
Key topics at the hearing included the abrupt departure last week of CDC Director Susan Monarez and the resignations of four senior CDC officials who reportedly left in protest over her removal. Earlier this year, Kennedy removed all members of a CDC advisory panel on vaccines, a move lawmakers said disrupted established scientific review processes and weakened expert input on immunization policy.
Lawmakers also revisited an FDA policy change issued last week that sharply limited access to the Covid‑19 vaccine. The agency’s updated guidelines followed a decision by the FDA’s top vaccine regulator to overrule agency scientists, according to officials familiar with the decision, a development senators said raised questions about internal deliberations and scientific standards.
Kennedy’s stewardship has included significant budget and contract shifts. In early August, he cut roughly $500 million in federal mRNA vaccine contracts that had been intended to accelerate development of vaccines against respiratory pathogens, including avian influenza strains. Senators said the cuts may reduce the federal government’s ability to mobilize quickly against emergent viral threats.
Throughout the hearing, senators sought detailed explanations of the rationale behind personnel decisions, the process that led to the FDA’s new vaccine guidance, and the implications of the mRNA contract reductions for future pandemic response. Lawmakers also probed how the department would ensure continuity of vaccine availability and sustain surveillance and research programs without the previously staffed advisory bodies and contracts.
Administration officials have defended some of the changes as part of broader efforts to reform agency practices and reorient policy. Kennedy has argued that his decisions reflect new priorities for the department, including reassessments of vaccine use and procurement strategies. At the hearing, he reiterated that he is responsible for stewarding taxpayer resources and aligning programs with current assessments of risk.
Critics, including lawmakers who supported the department’s previous vaccine strategies, have said the pace and opacity of recent moves have diminished public trust and disrupted long-standing advisory mechanisms used to vet scientific recommendations. Those tensions were evident during the hearing as members repeatedly pressed for documentation, timelines and assurances that scientific expertise would continue to guide HHS policymaking.
The Senate session concluded with calls from some lawmakers for Kennedy to resign and with a broader bipartisan insistence on continued oversight of HHS, the CDC and the FDA. Lawmakers said they would review records from the department and monitor how the agencies implement any operational changes announced in recent weeks.
The administration’s next steps remain to be seen. Kennedy’s recent actions have already altered the structure and contractual commitments of federal vaccine and public‑health programs, and the hearing underscored that congressional scrutiny of those changes is likely to continue as lawmakers seek clarity on how the nation will maintain preparedness against infectious disease threats.