RFK Jr.'s showdown with the Senate
Post Reports
The Washington Post
4.4 • 5.1K Ratings
🗓️ 4 September 2025
⏱️ 23 minutes
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Summary
The sparks flew in Thursday’s Senate Finance Committee hearing.
Senators – Republicans and Democrats alike – grilled Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over his handling of vaccines and the shakeup at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Kennedy, for his part, doubled down on his ouster of CDC director Susan Monarez, claiming she was not “trustworthy.” He insisted that Americans would still be able to access coronavirus vaccines, despite his overhauling of a key vaccine panel.
Host Colby Itkowitz speaks with health reporter David Ovalle about the fireworks at Kennedy’s hearing before the Senate. Plus, they discuss what’s happening with diverging school vaccine policies in red and blue states.
Today’s show was produced by Elana Gordon with help from Sabby Robinson. It was edited by Peter Bresnan and mixed by Sam Bair.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Thank you, Chairman Crapo, and thank you, Ranking Member Wyden. The invitation will appear before |
| 0:08.7 | the committee today. This morning on Capitol Hill, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. appeared before the Senate |
| 0:14.2 | Finance Committee. He was there to answer questions about his overhauling of the nation's largest |
| 0:19.1 | health agency, the Department of Health |
| 0:21.1 | and Human Services, or HHS. Under President Trump's leadership, we at HHS are enacting a once-in-a-generation |
| 0:28.9 | shift from a sick care system to a true health care system that tackles the root causes of chronic |
| 0:35.3 | disease. |
| 0:41.8 | RFK Jr.'s tenure has been mired in controversy. |
| 0:46.7 | Since he took office in February, he's pursued an agenda based on the growing Make America Healthy Again movement. |
| 0:48.3 | He has restructured departments, cut staff, and most recently upended the Centers for Disease |
| 0:53.5 | Control and Prevention, or CDC. |
| 0:56.0 | We are the sickest country in the world. That's why we have to fire people at CDC. |
| 1:01.8 | They did not do their job. This was their job to keep us healthy. |
| 1:07.1 | The White House recently fired its newly appointed director, Susan Manaras, who then accused |
| 1:12.1 | RFK Jr. of, quote, weaponizing public health for political gain and restricting access to vaccines |
| 1:18.2 | despite the scientific evidence. As this hearing got underway, Democratic Senator Ron Wyden |
| 1:24.5 | of Oregon grilled RFK Jr. over the changes he's made to vaccine policies. |
| 1:29.6 | He and other Democrats called on him to resign. |
| 1:32.7 | It is in the country's best interest that Robert Kennedy stepped down. |
| 1:36.9 | And if he doesn't, Donald Trump should fire him before more people are hurt by his reckless disregard for science and the truth. |
| 1:44.6 | The hearing was as expected, very contentious. |
| 1:48.7 | David Oviah is a reporter with the Washington Post's Health and Science Team. |
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