Democrats are demanding answers after Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. abruptly fired all 17 members of a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention panel that advised on vaccines.
Kennedy Jr., a prominent vaccine skeptic, axed every member of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP)—an expert panel installed during the Biden administration that evaluates vaccine safety and efficacy—in June, replacing them with a motley crew of allies and anti-vaccine activists.
Democrats on the Senate’s Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee have now launched an investigation into the firings and are pressing Kennedy for answers as he pushes his “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) agenda.
“The harm your actions will cause is significant,” Democrats wrote in a scathing letter to Kennedy obtained by Reuters. “As your new ACIP makes recommendations based on pseudoscience, fewer and fewer Americans will have access to fewer and fewer vaccines.
“As you give a platform to conspiracy theorists, and even promote their theories yourself, Americans will continue to lose confidence in whatever vaccines are still available.”
Among Kennedy’s ACIP picks are Dr. Robert Malone, a virologist banned from X for spreading false claims about COVID-19 and vaccines, and Martin Kulldorff, a Harvard Medical School professor who was fired for refusing to comply with the university’s vaccine mandate.
A spokesperson for Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent who caucuses with the Democrats, said the party had to launch its own probe after GOP committee chair Sen. Bill Cassidy refused to support a bipartisan investigation.
Democrats are demanding that Kennedy explain the alleged “conflicts of interest” he cited when firing the original panel, as well as seeking a list of everyone involved in the decision to remove them.
The letter also demands proof that Kennedy’s new appointees were properly vetted and met government ethics requirements.
Democrats are also focusing on Lyn Redwood, a top ally of the health secretary who formerly led an anti-vaccine group founded by Kennedy. Redwood gave a presentation at the new ACIP’s first meeting, and senators want to know who approved her to speak to the panel.
“Millions more lives are at risk from vaccine-preventable diseases if you continue to undermine vaccine access through ACIP,” the letter added.
The letter was signed by Sanders and Democrats including Tim Kaine, Maggie Hassan, John Hickenlooper, and Ed Markey.
The Department of Health and Human Services did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Beast.
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