Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) on Friday called on President Trump to fire Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., the secretary of Health and Human Services, over the ouster of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Susan Monarez and several high-profile resignations.
The termination of Monarez and the resignation of other senior officials has sparked a maelstrom of controversy and a protest of hundreds of people outside the CDC’s Atlanta campus Thursday.
“Donald Trump knew Robert F. Kennedy Jr. would be a disastrous pick to lead health care in America and he nominated him anyway. Donald Trump made this mistake and now he must fire RFK Jr. immediately,” Schumer said in a statement
The Senate confirmed Kennedy on a party-line vote in February, with Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and all Democrats voting against him.
“RFK Jr.’s stubborn, pigheaded, and conspiracy-based attacks on proven science are going to make many more people sick and cause more deaths. Americans are in greater danger every day Robert Kennedy Jr. remains as HHS Secretary,” Schumer said.
“By keeping Robert Kennedy in charge of HHS, Trump is doubling down on his own failure. President Trump must admit his mistake and remove Kennedy now,” he added.
Schumer blamed Kennedy last month for failing to respond adequately to the worst measles outbreak in the nation in 33 years.
“Under your tutelage as secretary, you have undermined vaccines, gutted public health funding, and dismantled core federal protections meant to keep Americans safe,” he wrote in a July 11 letter to Kennedy.
Kennedy’s decision this week to fire Monarez, which the White House has backed, came after Kennedy and Monarez battled over rescinding approvals for COVID-19 vaccinations.
It triggered the resignation of several other senior officials, including Demetre Daskalakis, the director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases; Daniel Jernigan, the director of the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Disease; and Debra Houry, the chief medical officer.
Monarez’s lawyers accused Kennedy of firing her because she refused to “rubber-stamp unscientific, reckless directives and fire dedicated health experts.”
Kennedy defended his decision during an interview on Fox News’ “Fox and Friends.”
“The agency is in trouble and we need to fix it and we are fixing it. And it may be that some people should not be working there anymore,” he said.
