Secretary Kennedy’s Broken Promises and the Impact on Americans’ Health

On Thursday, September 4, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testified before the Senate Finance Committee following weeks of increasing uncertainty and upheaval at our nation's health department. Republican and Democratic senators alike had pointed questions for the Secretary, who was appearing before the Committee for the first time since his confirmation hearing in January, at which time he made a series of promises to secure enough votes for a narrow confirmation. Chief among them were his commitments to follow evidence-based science over personal belief in shaping vaccine policy, and to uphold a culture of "radical transparency," and "gold standard science."

One of the most contentious issues at the Finance hearing was around Secretary Kennedy's stance on vaccines. When he was nominated by President Trump for the role at the head of HHS, Senators pointed to his legacy of vaccine fear mongering, including by founding a prominent anti-vaccine group that promotes vaccine misinformation, as reason to worry that he may disregard decades of evidence of safety to instead push his own personal agenda and undermine access to vaccines for millions of Americans.

And less than a year in, Kennedy is proving those concerns to be well-founded by breaking many of his initial promises and increasingly imposing his own personal ideology into decisions at the highest level. Just last week he demanded that the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) be fired after less than a month in the role because, in her words, she "insisted on rigorous scientific review" when it comes to vaccine recommendations. This further triggered top CDC officials to resign in protest, citing the increasingly blurred lines between science and political ideology.

Below, we examine some of the promises Secretary Kennedy has previously made and how his actions as HHS Secretary have diverged from those commitments, underscoring why Congress must continue to conduct hearings and engage in critical oversight to protect Americans' health.

Removal of Independent Experts from Key Committee

During his confirmation hearing, Secretary Kennedy stated, "I am not going to go into HHS and impose my preordained opinions on anybody at HHS. I'm going to empower the scientists at HHS to do their job and make sure that we have good science that is evidence based."

Instead, Secretary Kennedy fired the entire 17-person Advisory Committee Immunization Practices (ACIP) panel that makes vaccine recommendations that dictate which vaccines must be covered by insurance. He installed 8 alternative advisors of his choosing, several of whom have publicly promoted vaccine misinformation in the past. And more troubling, Secretary Kennedy stated, "without removing the current members, the current Trump administration would not have been able to appoint a majority of new members until 2028" - signaling the goal is to continue to install members aligned with his ideology rather than those who will follow the science.

The impacts of this radical change in ACIP membership are already becoming clear. The new panel immediately moved to rescind a long-standing recommendation regarding flu shots and the use of Thimerosal, a preservative in about 4% of flu vaccines. Despite having no evidence of harm, people who hold anti-vaccination beliefs claim Thimerosal is unsafe and causes autism. Secretary Kennedy endorsed this change in recommendations even though the CDC's and FDA's own websites affirm the safety of the preservative and reaffirm that there is no connection between the ingredient and autism.

Undermining Access to Vaccines

On multiple occasions before being sworn in, Secretary Kennedy stated he would separate his personal feelings about vaccines and promised he was "not going to take people's vaccines away from them." Yet, just last week the FDA announced new restrictions for the COVID-19 booster, overriding the overwhelming evidence on who the booster shot can safely be administered to, and thus severely limiting access for millions of Americans.

This change in policy builds on Secretary Kennedy's May 27th announcement via X that the CDC would no longer recommend COVID-19 vaccines for pregnant women - a decision made without consultation with vaccine experts and announced without representation from the CDC. The FAQ document sent to Congress to support Kennedy's decision to rescind the recommendation cites two studies that actively refute his claim that the vaccines are unsafe during pregnancy. It also claims a third study found "an increase in placental blood clotting in pregnant mothers who took the vaccine," but the paper it cites doesn't contain any reference to placental blood clots.

His assault on vaccine access goes beyond COVID-19 prevention: Secretary Kennedy also promised, "I'm going to continue research on every kind of vaccine," and then proceeded to cancel $500 million in funding for mRNA vaccines including those being developed to fight bird flu and other viruses.

The Need for Congressional Accountability and Oversight

Secretary Kennedy has failed to uphold the commitments he made to the public and to Congress, instead demonstrating time and time again his willingness to buck the independent, nonpartisan scientific experts at HHS and it's key agencies such as the CDC and FDA in favor of partisan ideology, personal beliefs and fake science.

Rather than championing "gold standard science" and "radical transparency," he has manipulated our nation's and the world's top public health institutions, undermining public trust and weakening the very infrastructure designed to keep us safe. If left unchecked, this erosion of scientific integrity and public health leadership will leave the United States dangerously unprepared for future pandemics and other public health challenges.

Senate leadership must continue to demand accountability and transparency for these increasingly reckless and dangerous actions that will threaten our nation's health security.

As the voice for health care consumers, Families USA will continue to stand in opposition to this blatant disregard for scientific integrity and demand accountability. The health of our nation depends on it.