Bernie Sanders says US Health Secretary Kennedy must resign
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US Senator Bernie Sanders calls for Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s resignation after the ousting of the CDC director and mass resignations over his anti-vaccine stance.
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Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., walks outside the chamber as Republicans begin a final push to advance President Donald Trump's tax breaks and spending cuts package, at the Capitol in Washington, on June 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
US Senator Bernie Sanders has called on Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to resign following a wave of resignations at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) triggered by Kennedy's controversial vaccine policies.
In a guest essay published in The New York Times (NYT), Sanders accused Kennedy of “endangering the health of the American people now and into the future." The senator, an independent who caucuses with Democrats and is the ranking member of the Senate's health committee, had previously opposed Kennedy's confirmation earlier this year.
The controversy escalated this week after Kennedy dismissed CDC Director Susan Monarez, less than a month into her role. Monarez reportedly refused to implement vaccine restrictions promoted by Kennedy, stating they conflicted with scientific consensus. Her removal deepened turmoil within the public health agency, which has seen growing internal friction under Kennedy’s leadership.
Following Monarez’s ousting, four senior CDC officials resigned in protest, citing Kennedy’s dissemination of anti-vaccine misinformation and the administration's departure from evidence-based policies. In solidarity, hundreds of CDC employees staged a walkout at the agency's Atlanta headquarters.
Sanders criticized Kennedy for trying to force health leaders to act as "rubber stamps for his dangerous policies," stressing that vaccines for diseases like polio and COVID-19 have saved hundreds of millions of lives globally.
Kennedy’s controversial health views under scrutiny
A longtime critic of vaccines, Kennedy has promoted various conspiracy theories surrounding public health, often rejected by the medical and scientific communities. His recent comments, claiming he could visually diagnose children at airports as suffering from "mitochondrial challenges," have drawn ridicule from healthcare professionals.
Kennedy, a lawyer and advocate for natural living, ran an unsuccessful bid for the presidency last year. He was nominated by President Donald Trump and sworn in as health secretary in February 2025.
During a congressional hearing in May, Kennedy stated that Americans "should never take medical advice" from him. As of now, Kennedy has not responded publicly to Sanders’ call for his resignation.
Earlier this year, 23 states and the District of Columbia sued the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Secretary of Health Robert F. Kennedy Jr over the sudden cessation of billions in funding.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Rhode Island on April 3, states that in March 2025, the HHS abruptly terminated a broad range of grants that had been funding immunizations, infectious disease monitoring, and mental health and substance abuse programs. “The result of these massive, unexpected funding terminations is serious harm to public health," the lawsuit highlights.
