Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) on Thursday directly blamed Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for a troubling resurgence in vaccine-preventable illnesses, marking one of the sharpest public rebukes of Kennedy since Cassidy lost his reelection bid last month.
Cassidy, a physician and longtime vaccine advocate, shared a New York Times article on X that detailed how hospitals are now seeing a surge in diseases that doctors rarely encountered in recent years. “A terrible outcome from RFK and others promoting vaccine skepticism,” Cassidy wrote, laying the blame squarely at Kennedy’s feet.
An HHS spokesperson pushed back, saying, “We reject the premise that providing Americans with transparent information about the benefits and risks of medical products undermines public health.” The spokesperson added that Kennedy is committed to “gold-standard science” and restoring trust in public health institutions.
Cassidy’s criticism is particularly notable given his role as the deciding vote in Kennedy’s confirmation. As chair of the Senate HELP Committee, Cassidy has overseen Kennedy’s controversial overhaul of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which Cassidy previously called “totally discredited.”
The senator’s stance carries weight as the HELP Committee prepares to consider President Trump’s nominees for CDC director and surgeon general. If the administration hopes to avoid further confirmation failures, it will need to heed Cassidy’s concerns.
The debate over vaccine skepticism has intensified under Kennedy’s leadership, with critics pointing to a decline in vaccination rates and a corresponding rise in preventable outbreaks. Cassidy’s warning echoes broader bipartisan alarm over the public health fallout from anti-vaccine rhetoric.
In a fiery Senate speech earlier this year, Cassidy also pressed Trump to address the medical debt crisis, signaling his willingness to challenge the administration on health policy. Meanwhile, Trump signed an executive order endorsing a slimmed-down childhood vaccine schedule, a move that has further fueled debates over immunization standards.
The resurgence of vaccine-preventable diseases in U.S. hospitals underscores the stakes. Cassidy’s direct attack on Kennedy suggests that even within Republican circles, there is growing unease with the direction of the nation’s vaccine policy.
