Amna Nawaz
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WATCH: Sen. Cassidy quizzes RFK Jr. about CDC director’s independence in deciding vaccine policy
Posted
April 22, 2026
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April 22, 2026
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2:28Now PlayingSen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., questioned Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. about political influence over national vaccine policy in a hearing on President Donald Trump’s 2027 budget request.
Kennedy appeared before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on Wednesday.
“I am a doctor who has seen people die from vaccine-preventable diseases, and when I see outbreaks numbering in the thousands and people dying once more from vaccine-preventable diseases, particularly children, it it seems more than tragic,” said Cassidy, a physician and influential chair of the Senate Health Committee.
He asked Kennedy if the future CDC director would “have the right to make decisions independently” of political appointees, who might work to undermine public trust in immunizations.
“If she wishes to make a decision independently of them, she shall be allowed to make that decision independently,” Kennedy said.
In an earlier hearing, Kennedy faced questioning about his stance on vaccines, Trump’s drug website known as Trump Rx, as well as proposed cuts to Medicaid and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Cassidy had opportunities in both hearings Wednesday to press Kennedy, whose approach to vaccines he’s criticized in the past.
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