This story is part of the AJI-NOTUS Washington Bureau Initiative, which seeks to help readers in local communities understand what their elected representatives are doing in Congress — and how the actions taken by Congress, the White House and federal agencies are impacting their lives.
By Margaret Manto, NOTUS
Sen. Bernie Sanders is asking Sen. Bill Cassidy, the Republican chair of the health committee, to investigate Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s recent decision to fire all 17 members of the nation’s top vaccine advisory committee.
In a letter provided to NOTUS by the Vermont senator’s office, Sanders questioned Kennedy’s recent dismissal of the entire membership of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. Sanders is the ranking member of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.
“I am requesting that we immediately initiate a bi-partisan investigation into these firings and conduct serious oversight into the actions Secretary Kennedy has taken to mislead the American people about the safety and effectiveness of vaccines and erode public health,” Sanders said in the letter, which was sent Friday.
The committee’s agenda, including opening investigations or scheduling hearings, is determined by Republicans. Cassidy’s office did not comment when asked whether he was interested in pursuing an investigation.
In firing the ACIP members, Kennedy, who has a long history of vaccine skepticism, said that it was “necessary to reestablish public confidence in vaccine science.” He then appointed eight new members to the committee, including two scientists who have criticized the efficacy of mRNA vaccines.
In his letter, Sanders called the dismissals a “reckless decision” on Kennedy’s part that will “endanger the lives of Americans of all ages.” He also questioned some of the replacements Kennedy has named to the committee and their histories of questioning vaccine safety.
Sanders also pointed to the apparent disconnect between Kennedy’s decision to overhaul ACIP and Kennedy’s promise to Cassidy that he wouldn’t make unilateral changes to the ACIP. Kennedy made that commitment to Cassidy as he campaigned for the senator’s vote during his congressional confirmation hearings.
Cassidy, a doctor who has long advocated for vaccines, posted on X following the ACIP firings that “now the fear is that the ACIP will be filled up with people who know nothing about vaccines except suspicion.”
He later told reporters he was speaking with Kennedy about his decision to fire the ACIP members, but he added that Kennedy promised during his confirmation hearings that he wouldn’t change the vaccine recommendation process, not that he would keep the committee itself.
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