Defiant RFK Jr. questions vaccine data, defends record under bipartisan Senate grilling

['Staff Writer', 'Ana Ceballos Is A Washington Correspondent For The Los Angeles Times. She Covers The White House', 'Congress. Before Joining The Times', 'She Was A State Government', 'Politics Reporter For The Miami Herald', 'Where She Covered The Administration Of Gov. Ron Desantis With A Focus On Immigration'] Los Angeles Times 2025-09-04 00:00:00

“They deserve the truth and that’s what we’re going to give them for the first time in the history of the agency,” Kennedy told senators. Some of them called on him to resign and accused him of politicizing federal health policy decisions. In one instance, Kennedy told Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) that she was engaging in “crazy talk” when asked about vaccine access. The move has made it more difficult for people to access the COVID-19 vaccine. Researchers, however, have estimated that nearly 20 million lives were saved by the COVID-19 vaccines in their first year of public availability.