Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Faces Congressional Scrutiny Over Layoffs, Budget Cuts, And Disease Prevention

(MENAFN- Live Mint) US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is set to appear before the Senate Finance Committee on Thursday (September 4), where he is expected to face tough questions about turmoil at federal health agencies.

The hearing, called to discuss Kennedy's plans to“Make America Healthy Again,” comes amid growing concern over layoffs and planned budget cuts that critics say are undermining the nation's ability to prevent disease.

CDC leadership shake-up

Kennedy may also be asked about events last week, when the Trump administration fired CDC Director Susan Monarez less than a month into her tenure, triggering multiple top-level resignations.

Monarez wrote in The Wall Street Journal that Kennedy attempted to weaken public health protections.

“I was told to preapprove the recommendations of a vaccine advisory panel newly filled with people who have publicly expressed antivaccine rhetoric,” Monarez said.“It is imperative that the panel's recommendations aren't rubber-stamped but instead are rigorously and scientifically reviewed before being accepted or rejected.”

Bipartisan scrutiny

Sen. Ron Wyden, the highest-ranking Democrat on the committee, said Kennedy must answer for the“chaos, confusion, and harm his actions are inflicting on American families.”

Republicans are also expected to press the health secretary. Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina said he wants to hear Kennedy reconcile his confirmation statements with recent actions.

“He's got to reconcile what he said during his confirmation process with what we've seen over the past few months, particularly on vaccine policy,” Tillis said.

Sen. Bill Cassidy, a physician and vaccine supporter, is also likely to question Kennedy's decisions.

Controversial vaccine decisions

Kennedy, a longtime leader in the anti-vaccine movement, announced in May that COVID-19 vaccines would no longer be recommended for healthy children and pregnant women , a move widely opposed by medical and public health groups.

In June, he replaced a panel of experts advising the government on vaccine policy with a handpicked group that included several vaccine skeptics, excluding several longstanding medical groups.

Calls for resignation

A coalition of medical and public health organisations, including the Infectious Diseases Society of America, called on Kennedy to resign.

“Our country needs leadership that will promote open, honest dialogue, not disregard decades of lifesaving science, spread misinformation, reverse medical progress and decimate programs that keep us safe,” the groups said in a statement on Wednesday.

(With AP inputs)

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