Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, wants Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to testify about the recent upheaval at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Cassidy invited Kennedy to respond to testimony presented this week by Susan Monarez, the agency’s former head, who painted a picture of political interference and secrecy instead of scientific evidence.
“Because President Trump has called for radical transparency, I am inviting Secretary Kennedy to speak with the Committee to share his side of the story,” Cassidy said in a statement. “This is how we fulfill the President’s mandate — giving Americans the full picture so they can judge for themselves.”
Monarez, Trump’s first Senate-confirmed CDC director, was ousted after being on the job less than a month.
She testified that Kennedy pressured her and other officials to support unethical changes to federal vaccine policy without supporting evidence, bypassed the agency’s scientific process by announcing major decisions on social media and prohibited them from talking to lawmakers.
When she refused to rubber-stamp recommendations from a key vaccine panel that Kennedy stacked with vaccine skeptic allies, Monarez said she was fired.
Cassidy said in a statement that he wants reform at the CDC and for Kennedy to “share his side of the story.”
“I want President Trump to have the best CDC in our nation’s history. I want to work with the President to fulfill his campaign promise to reform the CDC and Make America Healthy Again,” Cassidy said.
In a statement to The Hill, HHS communications director Andrew Nixon did not directly say whether Kennedy would testify.
“We will continue to hold productive conversations with the committee about how to Make America Healthy Again,” Nixon said.
Cassidy, who is running for reelection, has been walking a political tightrope regarding Kennedy.
Cassidy agonized about supporting Kennedy’s confirmation due to his record of anti-vaccine views, but ultimately voted to confirm him after receiving assurances about vaccine policy.
Cassidy has refrained from directly criticizing Kennedy, but has shown growing frustration with the secretary and the chaos he is causing across the federal health department.
