ICYMI: Warnock Calls on President Trump to Fire Secretary Kennedy Following Turmoil at CDC

In Thursday’s Senate Finance Committee hearing, Senator Reverend Warnock grilled Health and Human Services Secretary Kennedy on his incompetent leadership overseeing the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Secretary Kennedy’s incompetence has impacted chronic disease and cancer research, harmed efforts to protect servicemember’s health, and jeopardized America’s public health infrastructure to respond to infectious diseases

The hearing follows last month’s shooting at the CDC that claimed the life of a DeKalb County police officer and turmoil over firings and resignations of top CDC leadership

Senator Warnock to Secretary Kennedy: “You are a hazard to the health of the American people. I think that you ought to resign. And if you do not resign, the President of the United States, who put forward Operation Warp Speed, which worked, should fire you”

Above: Senator Warnock questioning Secretary Kennedy in a Senate Finance Committee hearing

Watch the exchange HERE

Washington, D.C. – Yesterday, U.S. Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA) called on President Trump to fire Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for his gross mismanagement of the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The Senate Finance Committee hearing follows last month’s shooting at the CDC that claimed the life of a DeKalb County police officer and turmoil over firings and resignations of top CDC leadership. Secretary Kennedy’s incompetence has impacted chronic disease and cancer research, harmed efforts to protect servicemember’s health, and jeopardized America’s public health infrastructure to respond to infectious diseases.

During his line of questioning, Senator Warnock pressed Secretary Kennedy on his extremist beliefs that are dismantling the nation’s public health infrastructure, leaving hundreds of Georgia public health workers without a job, and putting children at risk by spreading misinformation about vaccines.

Last month, Senator Warnock reaffirmed his commitment to supporting Georgia’s CDC employees following the shooting at the CDC that claimed the life of a DeKalb County police officer. Earlier this year, Senator Warnock voted against Secretary Kennedy to lead HHS, the agency that oversees the CDC, due to concerns over disturbing comments and long-held beliefs of Kennedy that would threaten health care costs, quality, and access for millions of Georgians and Americans. Since the CDC and its 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.

See more stories about Senator Warnock’s questioning of Secretary Kennedy below:

NBC News: Sen. Warnock says Kennedy should resign or be fired

Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., told Kennedy, “You are a hazard to the health of the American people.”
“I think that you ought to resign, and if you don’t resign, the president of the United States, who put forward Operation Warp Speed, which worked, should fire you,” he concluded.

WABE: Warnock, Ossoff criticize Kennedy’s COVID-19 policy, attacks on CDC

Georgia’s two United States senators are among the Democrats in Congress demanding that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. resign from his post as head of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. At a three-hour hearing Thursday before the Senate Finance Committee, Sen. Raphael Warnock, other committee Democrats and some Republicans questioned Kennedy about his public health views and policies.
Kennedy defended his program cuts and thousands of staff cuts at federal health agencies, including the Atlanta-based U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“I want to fix the system, and that’s what we’re doing,” Kennedy said.
After the hearing, Warnock said Kennedy is undermining U.S. ability to safeguard public health and safety.
“For him to say that the CDC is the most corrupt agency in the history of the world, to say that they don’t care about children – those comments are certainly unhelpful at best and dangerous at worst,” Warnock said.

11Alive: Georgia Sen. Warnock, RFK Jr. verbally spar at Senate committee hearing: ‘You oughta resign’

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the Department of Health and Human Services secretary, faced sharply critical questioning Thursday from Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock during a Senate committee hearing.
Sen. Warnock’s and HHS Sec. Kennedy’s back-and-forth reached levels of open contempt, with the Georgia Democrat telling Sec. Kennedy he is a “hazard to the health of the American people.” The two clashed over the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with Warnock questioning Kennedy whether he called it the “most corrupt federal agency in the world.”
“Not the history of the world but definitely within HHS,” Kennedy responded. “I did not say that, but I did say it’s the most corrupt agency in HHS and maybe the government.”
Warnock focused the bulk of his questions on Sec. Kennedy’s reactions to the shooting last month at the Atlanta campus of the CDC, in which a gunman fired hundreds of rounds at CDC buildings and killed DeKalb County Officer David Rose.

AJC: Warnock grills RFK Jr.: ‘You ought to resign’

U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock accused Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. of undermining public health and putting the safety of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention employees at risk by his rhetoric and vaccine skepticism.
“You are a hazard to the health of the American people,” Warnock said as he questioned Kennedy. “I think that you ought to resign. And if you don’t resign, the president of the United States — who put forth Operation Warp Speed, which worked — should fire you.”
The contrast between Kennedy’s praise for Trump, whose Operation Warp Speed initiative helped fast track the development of COVID-19 vaccines, and his criticism of those same vaccines was a running theme during Thursday morning’s Senate Finance Committee hearing.
U.S. senators from both sides of the aisle said Kennedy had broken promises he made during his confirmation hearing to follow the science when it comes to vaccines. They said he had instead pushed out career scientists who challenged his point of view.

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