ICYMI: Bennet Demands RFK Jr. Answer for False Vaccine Safety Claims During Senate Finance Hearing

Sep 4, 2025| Press Releases

Video of Bennet's Full Remarks Available HERE

Washington, D.C. - Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet questioned U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., during a Senate Finance Committee hearing on his actions undermining vaccine safety and access for American families. Bennet demanded answers on whether parents would continue to have access to lifesaving vaccines following Kennedy's appointment of vaccine conspiracy theorists to the influential Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.

On potential changes to the Child and Adolescent Immunization Schedule, Bennet said:

"This is not a podcast. It is the American people's health that's on the line here. This is the last thing, by the way, our parents need when their kids are going back to school, is to have the kind of confusion and expense and scarcity that you're creating as a result of your ideology. I think it's critical for you to share the evidence that this panel will rely on. Will you give the American people six weeks in advance the record that they're going to rely on to make these decisions? Will you make it transparent for the American people?"

Here's what they're saying:

Wall Street Journal: CDC Turmoil in Focus as RFK Jr. Testifies in Senate Hearing

Kennedy was pressed by Sen. Michael Bennet (D., Colo.) on the independence of the panel and possible changes to the childhood vaccine schedule. Kennedy said he didn't "anticipate a change" to the MMR vaccine, which fights the measles, mumps and rubella and is required for school children across the country, but he was berated by Bennet, who said parents and children "deserve so much better than your leadership."

CNBC: RFK Jr. spreads vaccine misinformation during congressional testimony

Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., noted that the committee member Dr. Retsef Levi has said that evidence is mounting that mRNA vaccines cause "serious harm, including death, especially among young people," apparently referring to a post pinned on Levi's X account. Kennedy appointed Levi to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on vaccine recommendations and insurance coverage.

Kennedy said he wasn't aware of Levi's comments, but added, "I agree with it."

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Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) asked Kennedy, Donald Trump's top health regulator, about his firing of every member of the Centers for Disease Control vaccine advisory committee, replacing them with his own picks.

"Are you aware that … one of these new members, Dr. [Retsef] Levi, wrote that 'evidence is mounting and indisputable that mRNA vaccines cause serious harm, including death, especially among young people,'" Bennet said. "Yes or no, are you aware that he said that?"

"I wasn't aware. I agree with it," responded Kennedy, a longtime anti-vaxxer.

Punchbowl News: Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet, RFK Jr. get in screaming match over vaccine panel appointments

Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) and Kennedy erupted at each other over the safety of mRNA vaccines. At one point, Kennedy snapped back at Bennet and said that he was "evading" Kennedy's question. Bennet noted he gets to ask the questions, not Kennedy.

Denver Post: Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet, RFK Jr. get in screaming match over vaccine panel appointments

Colorado U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet tangled with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over vaccines and recent uncertainty over federal guidance for parents - at one point screaming at each other - during a Senate committee hearing Thursday.

During his time for questions, Bennet, a Democrat, called attention to Kennedy's appointments to a CDC vaccine advisory panel, many of whom have criticized vaccines and spread misinformation. Kennedy himself is known as a vaccine skeptic. The panel is scheduled for an upcoming review of recommendations for a series of common childhood vaccines.

"Should parents and schools in Colorado be prepared for more measles outbreaks as a result of that? How about more mumps outbreaks?" Bennet asked.

Kennedy said he didn't anticipate a change to recommendations for the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine but said he thinks parents should be able to "make their own choices." Given recent uncertainty over vaccine guidance, Bennet pressed for more details.

"This is not a podcast. It is the American people's health that is on the line here," he said.

The back-and-forth soon escalated into verbal warfare, with Kennedy and Bennet screaming questions at each other and accusing the other of failing to answer.

WATCH: ABC News: Bennet, Kennedy spar over vaccines in heated exchange

Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet grilled Kennedy on his firing of all 17 members of the CDC's vaccine advisory panel.

WATCH: NBC News: RFK Jr., Sen. Bennet argue during Senate hearing

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Sen. Michael Bennet argue over who asks the questions during a Senate Finance Committee hearing on Capitol Hill.

WATCH: CNN: RFK Jr. gets into heated confrontation with Sen. Bennet

WATCH: The Economic Times: 'Answer my question first!': RFK Jr. explodes at Sen. Bennet in ultra-heated COVID vaccine clash
During a tense Senate exchange, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appeared to support a controversial claim by new vaccine advisory panel member Dr. Retsef Levi, suggesting mRNA vaccines could cause serious harm, including death, particularly in young people, a statement Sen. Michael Bennet strongly rejected as false. Later, when Sen. Mark Warner asked Robert F. Kennedy Jr. if he accepted that 1 million Americans had died from COVID-19, Kennedy responded that he did not know the number.