Senator Bernie Sanders is demanding that Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. step down following a wave of turmoil at the CDC. The fallout began with the sudden firing of CDC Director Susan Monarez, which triggered the resignations of four senior officials who accused the administration of politicizing public health.
Sanders, the best Democrat on the Senate Health Committee, expressed alarm over what he sees as Kennedy’s anti-vaccine agenda. In a sharply worded New York Times op-ed, Sanders condemned Kennedy for spreading conspiracy theories and ignoring scientific consensus, calling his leadership “a direct threat to public health.”
President Trump and Kennedy have defended the shakeup, claiming it’s part of their mission to restore trust in the CDC. But Sanders warned that under Kennedy, Americans may lose access to critical vaccinations and that diseases once controlled could make a deadly comeback.
Citing the administration’s decision to cut $500 million from mRNA vaccine research, Sanders said the country is less prepared for future health crises.
“Secretary Kennedy is putting lives at risk,” Sanders wrote. “He must resign.”
In the aftermath, Deputy HHS Secretary Jim O’Neill has been named acting CDC director.
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