Sen. Bernie Sanders and Senate Democrats are intensifying calls for Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to face immediate congressional oversight, warning that his actions have destabilized the nation’s scientific institutions and contributed to a growing public health crisis. Their demand comes days after a federal advisory panel appointed by Kennedy voted to reverse the longstanding recommendation that newborns receive the hepatitis B vaccine, a decision that lawmakers and major medical organizations say exemplifies a broader pattern of anti-science governance.
In a letter to Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee Chair Bill Cassidy, Sanders and Democratic committee members wrote that “Kennedy has waged an unprecedented war on science and vaccines that have saved millions of lives,” urging Cassidy to compel the secretary’s testimony. The senators argued that Kennedy’s decisions “undermine the health and well-being of the American people and people throughout the world,” pointing to a series of actions they say have directly weakened the nation’s capacity to prevent and respond to disease.
Central to the lawmakers’ concerns is Kennedy’s direction to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to publish claims “suggesting that childhood vaccines cause autism,” a statement that contradicts decades of global scientific research. According to the letter, Kennedy removed the CDC director after the official “refused to rubber-stamp his dangerous and unsubstantiated recommendations.” During a nationwide measles outbreak, Kennedy also circulated misinformation about the “safety and effectiveness” of the measles vaccine, prompting further alarm among public health experts.
The senators wrote that Kennedy has “packed a critical scientific body, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), with vaccine deniers, completely upending the rigorous scientific process for reviewing and recommending vaccines to the public despite a commitment he made to you that ACIP would be ‘maintained without changes.’” That shift in ACIP membership laid the groundwork for last week’s controversial 8 to 3 vote to end the routine recommendation that all newborns be immunized against hepatitis B.
Medical groups warn this reversal could dramatically increase infant infections after decades of progress. The letter emphasizes that the hepatitis B vaccine “has cut the number of children who get hepatitis B by more than 99 percent. In fact, health departments report that rates of hepatitis B infections in babies and young children have fallen from 20,000 a year to fewer than 20.” Lawmakers say reversing this progress places infants at unnecessary, preventable risk.
Beyond vaccine policy decisions, Sanders and his colleagues detail what they describe as Kennedy’s systematic dismantling of public health infrastructure. The secretary has “defunded research that will leave us woefully unprepared for future pandemics and public health emergencies,” they wrote. He has also “end[ed] campaigns encouraging flu vaccinations,” a decision that comes amid fears of a severe influenza season.
These actions coincide with rising outbreaks of preventable disease. According to the senators, “over 1,700 people have been infected with measles. Whooping cough cases are surging nationwide, and concerns about a severe flu season continue to grow. Vaccination rates across the country are falling. Children are dying from illnesses that vaccines could have prevented.” They argue that Kennedy’s policy choices and public statements have directly contributed to eroding public trust in scientifically validated vaccines.
The lawmakers also accuse Kennedy of placing “individuals with significant conflicts of interest in positions of power,” further damaging confidence in federal health agencies. They point to a wave of warnings from the scientific community, writing that “dozens of scientific and medical groups” have called for Kennedy’s resignation or removal. More than 1,000 current and former HHS staffers have issued similar calls. Their letter cites a September warning from nine former CDC directors that Kennedy “is endangering every American’s health,” a joint statement from former surgeons general raising similar alarms, and a request from a dozen former FDA commissioners expressing deep concern that Kennedy’s proposals “would undermine a regulatory model designed to ensure that vaccines are safe, effective and available when the public needs them most.”
Senators argue that Cassidy, a physician, has publicly acknowledged the urgency of reinforcing vaccine science. They note his earlier statements that “ACIP is totally discredited. They are not protecting children,” and that “What parents need to hear right now is vaccines for measles, polio, hepatitis B and other childhood diseases are safe and effective and will not cause autism. Any statement to the contrary is wrong, irresponsible, and actively makes Americans sicker.”
The letter also recalls Kennedy’s commitment during the confirmation process to appear before the HELP Committee on a quarterly basis. “Kennedy has unfortunately only appeared before the HELP Committee once during his tenure as HHS Secretary. He appeared on March 12, 2025 and has not responded to the HELP Committee’s requests for appearances since,” the senators wrote, arguing that this avoidance of oversight is obstructing Congress’s ability to protect public health.
The lawmakers conclude with a direct appeal to Cassidy: “Failure to conduct an oversight hearing on Secretary Kennedy’s actions would be an abdication of our responsibility—both from a moral perspective and as a matter of sound public health policy.” They urge him to schedule testimony “as soon as possible” given the rapid deterioration of vaccination rates and the escalating risks posed by preventable disease.
As preventable illnesses resurface across the country and Kennedy’s decisions draw unprecedented condemnation from former health officials, scientists, and frontline physicians, the senators argue that Congress must intervene before further damage is done. Whether the HELP Committee will compel the secretary’s testimony remains unresolved, but the letter marks a significant escalation in congressional efforts to confront the consequences of Kennedy’s approach to federal scientific agencies.
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