President Donald Trump publicly distanced himself from Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Tuesday, praising the effectiveness of vaccines and saying he had “had enough” after Kennedy’s highly criticized Senate appearance.
Trump told reporters that some vaccines are "so incredible" and that "they just pure and simple work. They’re not controversial at all, and I think those vaccines should be used," comments that underscored a sharp break with a cabinet member who has long questioned vaccine safety.
Kennedy appeared before the Senate Finance Committee on Sept. 4, where his testimony drew criticism from both Republicans and Democrats, including members of the Republican leadership. Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso and Sen. Bill Cassidy, a physician, questioned Kennedy’s statements about vaccines and pandemic response, and Democratic committee members said his testimony was misleading. Several members of Kennedy’s own family, including his sister Kerry Kennedy and former U.S. Rep. Joe Kennedy III, publicly called for his resignation.
The exchange marked a sharp political moment for the White House. Trump, who had largely tolerated Kennedy’s controversial statements while the secretary served in the administration, moved to rebut those views explicitly after the hearing. Administration officials said the president was responding to the intensity of the bipartisan criticism and the spotlight the hearing placed on Kennedy’s public record on vaccines.
Kennedy, a long-time vaccine critic who has promoted claims at odds with mainstream public health agencies, faced sustained questioning during the hearing about basic pandemic-era facts and the performance of federal public health institutions. Critics noted that Kennedy struggled to answer some questions about COVID-19 mortality and the effectiveness of vaccines, and they pointed to actions taken since his confirmation that they say undercut established institutions.
Among those actions, the HHS secretary ousted the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention roughly a month after praising the official’s appointment, a move that drew particular scrutiny from lawmakers who said it suggested instability at a key public health agency. The CDC campus was briefly mentioned during the hearing as senators probed the agency’s pandemic response and the composition of the panels advising HHS.
Administration allies and conservative media commentators offered mixed assessments of the fallout. Some outlets and editorial pages that have been friendly to Trump questioned Kennedy’s competence or suggested his behavior reflected deeper health or judgment issues. Others urged patience, noting Kennedy’s prominent family name and the political risks of removing a cabinet secretary who still has supporters.
Separately, the president scored two favorable rulings at the Supreme Court that aides said reinforced his broader governing agenda. The high court, in rulings reported by several outlets as 6-3 decisions, cleared the way for Immigration and Customs Enforcement to carry out so-called "roving" arrests and raids in California in certain circumstances and held that the president may fire a member of the Federal Trade Commission, a decision tied to the administration’s ability to remove commissioner Rebecca Slaughter. The FTC matter stems from the president’s dismissal of two Democratic commissioners earlier this year.
Media reaction to Kennedy’s hearing was immediate and partisan. Some editorial pages and tabloids criticized Kennedy sharply, while other commentators framed the episode as an internal Republican dispute now playing out in public. Separately, The Wall Street Journal reported it had obtained what it described as a birthday message from Trump to Jeffrey Epstein; the White House said Trump disputes the authenticity of the material and has pursued legal action.
The confrontation places the White House at a crossroads about how to handle a high-profile cabinet official whose public statements and actions have become politically toxic for the administration. Trump’s public defense of vaccines signals an effort to reaffirm a mainstream public health position that was a hallmark of his first-term pandemic response, including the federal Operation Warp Speed effort to accelerate vaccine development.
It remained unclear whether the president would seek Kennedy’s resignation or otherwise remove him from the post. For now, the public rebuke and the bipartisan pushback from lawmakers and Kennedy’s own family have intensified scrutiny of the HHS leadership and could shape Republican and Democratic messaging leading into this fall’s political calendar.