Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. finally visited the headquarters of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Monday, three days after a shooting took place.
According to Channel 2 Action News, Kennedy was spotted arriving at the facility in a motorcade and reportedly met with the director of the CDC. A HHS press release reported that CDC security led Kennedy through a Roybal Campus tour to show the shattered windows from the shooting.
Kennedy also met with DeKalb County Police Chief Greg Padrick along with a private meeting with the widow of Officer David Rose, who died responding to the shooting.
“He offered his deepest condolences and reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to honoring Officer Rose’s bravery, sacrifice, and service to the nation,” the press release said.
CDC workers were working remotely on the day of Kennedy’s visit.
The Georgia man responsible for the shooting on Aug. 8 was identified as 30-year-old Patrick White who blamed the COVID-19 vaccine for making him sick and depressed. The shooter’s grievances with the vaccine led him to arm himself with five guns before firing multiple rounds and killing Rose. White also died in the shooting.
Before arriving to the facility, Kennedy took to X on Saturday to comment on the tragedy.
“We know how shaken our public health colleagues feel today. No one should face violence while working to protect the health of others.”
We are deeply saddened by the tragic shooting at CDC’s Atlanta campus that took the life of officer David Rose. We stand with his wife and three children and the entire CDC family.We know how shaken our public health colleagues feel today. No one should face violence while…
— Secretary Kennedy (@SecKennedy) August 9, 2025
The Health Secretary has faced backlash for his slow response to the tragedy. Former surgeon general Dr. Jerome Adams labeled Kennedy’s response “tepid.”
“It took him over 18 hours to issue a tepid response to these horrific shootings, and that’s not even considering how his inflammatory rhetoric in the past have actually contributed to a lot of what’s been going on,” Adams said.
Since the shooting, CDC workers have expressed their grievances with Kennedy. According to the Washington Post, some CDC workers believe that Kennedy’s actions have undermined and politicized the CDC, contributing to the violence.
Anna Yousaf, a CDC physician that researched the coronavirus vaccine’s efficacy, spoke out against Kennedy at a rally.
“He’s constantly undermining our vaccine work,” Yousaf said. “So for him to say your work is important is really just a slap in the face. There’s no acknowledgment at all that he could have said less villainizing things about CDC.”
Another CDC official, who was unnamed in the Post article out of fear of retaliation, said in a text message that “there is a direct line from the vilification of CDC during Covid and the deliberate lies and mis/disinformation that continues today.”
“Many of the sources of these lies now have a pulpit and the veneer of respectability through their positions in the administration.”
Kennedy has formerly made contradictory and often misinformed remarks regarding vaccines. In July 2023, Kennedy stated “There’s no vaccine that is safe and effective” while touting the belief that vaccines cause autism.
The health secretary has also previously claimed the coronavirus vaccine contained poison and was the “deadliest vaccine ever made.” He most recently removed the Covid vaccine requirement for healthy children and pregnant women in May, despite pregnancy being considered a risk factor for the disease.
Kennedy cancelled $500 million worth of mRNA vaccine development last week that researchers deem crucial to pandemic preparedness, sparking condemnation from medical experts around the country.
“I don’t think I’ve seen a more dangerous decision in public health in my 50 years in the business,” Mike Osterholm, a University of Minnesota expert on infectious diseases and pandemic preparations, told the Associated Press.
The Daily Beast has reached out to Kennedy for comment.
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