During a Tuesday Senate Finance Committee hearing, Senator Reverend Warnock questioned Jim O’Neill, the nominee to be Secretary Kennedy’s second in command at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
Senator Warnock also used the hearing to highlight the unjust firings of thousands of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) employees
The Senator also instructed Gary Andres, the nominee to be an Assistant Secretary of Legislation at HHS, that if confirmed, he would ensure timely answers to Congressional letters – several of Senator Warnock’s letters to HHS have gone unanswered
The Senator has continued his work to champion to CDC while the agency’s work to protect public health and national security has been under attack from the Trump Administration. The Senator has rallied with fired CDC workers and held then HHS Secretary Nominee Kennedy accountable for his dangerous rhetoric about the centers
Senator Reverend Warnock: “Yes or no, do you think it is appropriate to fire HHS or CDC, public health experts for ‘performance issues’ who had just gotten positive performance evaluations?”
Watch Senator Warnock at Tuesday’s Finance Committee hearing HERE
Washington, D.C. – Yesterday, U.S. Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA) demanded answers from Jim O’Neill about the wrongful firings of high-performing public health experts. O’Neill is the nominee to be the Deputy Secretary at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). During the Senate Finance Committee hearing, the Senator pressed O’Neil about the unjust firing of Georgia-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) employees.
“Mr. O’Neill, these folks are my constituents, I know them, they are my neighbors, I bump into them at the grocery store. Many of them had just gotten performance evaluations saying they are doing an outstanding job. Only to be fired weeks later for ‘Performance issues, ’” askedSenator Reverend Warnock. “If confirmed, you’d oversee personnel, yes or no, do you think it is appropriate to fire HHS or CDC, public health experts, for ‘performance issues’ who had just gotten positive performance evaluations?”
Senator Warnock also took time to address the lackluster transparency at HHS, despite being a part of an administration that claims to prioritize transparency. Senator Warnock has sent several letters to Secretary Kennedy and other leadership at HHS, but none of the letters have been answered.
“If confirmed to be the primary liaison between HHS and Congress, will you ensure that I finally get a complete and thorough response to this and all of my letters? Will you commit to ensuring that HHS communicates timely and transparently with me and my staff on CDC reorganization plans? The Secretary still hasn’t answered my letter,” Senator Warnock asked Gary Andres who would be the chief liaison between HHS and Congress.
“Tell the Secretary to answer my letters,” Senator Warnock demanded to conclude his line of questioning.
During Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy’s nomination hearing in committee, Senator Warnock spoke at length defending the importance of the CDC, which employs over 10,000 hardworking Georgians. Shortly after, the Senator spoke for nearly an hour on the Senate floor, in large part in defense of the CDC’s critical work to defend public health and national security. The Senator has continued to pressure HHS Secretary Kennedy to reverse the CDC firings.
Since CDC employees became a target of this administration, Senator Warnock has led several efforts defending their employment and the crucial role they play in keeping the nation safe. Earlier this year, Senator Warnock sent a letter to the Acting Director of the CDC about the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS), asking for updates on operations. He also sent two additional letters to President Trump and Secretary Kennedy, respectively, urging the administration to reconsider any plans to eliminate the Division of HIV Prevention at the CDC and requesting additional information about the termination of 20,000 full-time staff and organizational restructuring at HHS. Senator Warnock also spoke at a rally organized by current and former CDC employees to support Georgians who have been callously fired from the public health institution. And his staff hosted a round table with fired CDC employees to brainstorm ways to push back on the administration.
Watch the Senator’s full remarks and line of questioning HERE.
See below a full transcript of the exchanges between Senator Warnock and the HHS nominees:
Senator Reverend Warnock (SRW): “The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC, is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. I am proud to continue the legacy of our great Georgia Senator Johnny Isakson, who made it his mission to champion the important work of CDC when he served on this very committee.”
“Mr. O’Neill, welcome and congratulations on your nomination. If confirmed as Deputy Secretary of HHS, you would be the number two person to Secretary Kennedy, responsible for the inward-facing operations and day-to-day management of personnel and HHS, including the CDC. But you’d be stepping into an agency that’s mired right now in chaos, following the exodus of 20,000 staff through resignations, unjust firings, including over 3,000 dedicated CDC experts during a historic measles outbreak.”
“Mr. O’Neill, these folks are my constituents, I know them, they are my neighbors, I bump into them at the grocery store. Many of them had just gotten performance evaluations saying that they were doing an outstanding job. Only to be fired weeks later for “performance issues.” If confirmed, you’d oversee personnel, yes or no, do you think it is appropriate to fire HHS or CDC, public health experts for “performance issues” who had just gotten positive performance evaluations?”
Jim O’Neill (JO):“Thank you for the question, Senator. As I said earlier, I had the pleasure of working at HHS for six years in the Bush Administration, and I always enjoyed working with CDC officials…”
(SRW): “Sir I read your bio and I’m going to run out of time. Do you think it is appropriate to fire these officials who had just got a great evaluation?”
(JO): “Senator, my understanding of both the proposed organization and RIF (Reeducation in Force) was that the decisions about which personnel should be retained going forward is made by the heads of the operating divisions. I don’t have any inside information on the agency – I believe that the leadership of CDC decided which people should be RIF’d.”
(SRW): “Do you think it is appropriate just from an issue of fairness, I’ve talked to these folks one-on-one. CDC workers share with me that they have gotten positive performance evaluations weeks earlier, only to be given notice that they were fired, not only were they given notice that they were fired, but weeks later they get a poor performance evaluation. You’re in charge of personnel. Do you think that’s fair?”
“Do you think that would be fair, just as someone who has managed personnel, on its face, does that strike you as dealing with people in an honorable way, who are serving our country? Even if you had to fire them, even if you felt like you had to streamline them for whatever reason. Do you think it is fair for someone to get a great performance evaluation and weeks later hear they are doing poorly, even as DOGE says we are dealing with waste?”
(JO): “Senator, it is always unpleasant to fire people, even if their function is no longer needed or they are not performing…”
(SRW): “Do you think it is an honorable way of handling people, sir? Yes or no?”
(JO): “I don’t know the particulars of the situation, perhaps they had a different supervisor the second time.”
(SRW): “If confirmed, will you commit to restoring the full functionality of each congressionally mandated CDC office that provides life-saving services and programs to the American people? Will you and your staff report directly to this committee on the status of restoring the programs?”
(JO): “It’s vitally important that every function and responsibility of HHS that’s set out in law be conducted and aimed toward success. If there are two functions that are appropriate that make more sense to be done within the same agency rather than separate agencies, it makes sense to put them together. If they duplicate functions being performed by more than one part of HHS, it makes sense to combine them. That seems to be the philosophy that was stated behind the proposed reorganization. It seems like a reasonable philosophy to me. That does absolutely preserve the essential functions of HHS that you cited.”
(SRW): “So even as this process – and I think it is charitable to call it a process, it’s been awfully chaotic – even as this ensues, this administration claims its goal is radical transparency. But there has been no transparency around CDC cuts.”
“In fact, I wrote to the Secretary in March, who I met with in my office, demanding specific information on CDC firings, and I still haven’t gotten a response from the Secretary.”
“Mr. Andres, if confirmed to be the primary liaison between HHS and Congress, will you ensure that I finally get a complete and thorough response to this and all of my letters? Will you commit to ensuring that HHS communicates timely and transparently with me and my staff on CDC reorganization plans? The Secretary still hasn’t answered my letter.”
Gary Andres (GA): “Thank you for the question, Senator Warnock. I know that as a top priority for you…”
(SRW): “It’s a top priority for my constituents.”
(GA): “…And your constituents, and your staff communicated to me how important CDC and the employees are to you. I will say this, I understand the importance of developing a relationship with trust, of accountability, and getting back to you, and I will commit to work with you on those things.”
“I think that when we talk about congressional letters, they will vary in terms of their level of complexity, and so it is hard to come up with some specific timeframe. But I understand the importance, I will commit to working with you on those things.”
(SRW): “Tell the Secretary to answer my letter!”
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