Health and Human Services Employees Call for Secretary’s Resignation
More than 1,000 current and former employees of the health and human service wrote an open letter, in which HHS secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was asked to either step down or be released. The letter was released at a tense time for the health authority.
Background
Last week, Susan Monarez, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director, was fired, and several other top CDC officials resigned from their jobs in protest. The staff is also upset about layoffs, changes to the vaccine registration system, and a turn before the CDC headquarters last month. Kennedy has been a vaccine skeptic for many years, which has led to concerns among health professionals.
Accusations Against Kennedy
The letter on Wednesday accused Kennedy of having "endangered the health of the nation". It quoted the revolution of last week at the CDC, the Food and Drug Administration’s decision to remove the emergency authorization for Covid 19 vaccines for small children, and the increase in "political ideologues that represent the key as scientific experts" in vaccine registration contributions.
Demands
The letter demanded that Kennedy resign and said that President Trump should choose a new HHS secretary if he refuses to leave his post voluntarily. The employees stated, "We swore an oath to support and defend the constitution of the United States and serve the American people. Our oath requires us to comment when the constitution is violated and the American people are at risk."
Response from HHS
Andrew Nixon, HHS Communication Director, replied to the letter by defending Kennedy’s record, arguing that he was working on restoring confidence in a "broken" CDC. Nixon stated, "From his first day in office, he promised to check his assumptions on the door – and asked every HHS colleague to do the same."
Reactions from Former CDC Directors
Nine former CDC directors wrote a New York Times Op-Ed, in which they argued that Kennedy’s decisions were "different from everything we had ever seen in the agency". They also stated that Monarez’s firing was "considering this frenzied fire".
Upcoming Testimony
Kennedy is set to testify on Thursday morning before the Senate Finance Committee, where he will likely face questions about the tumult at HHS. The White House confirmed last week that Monarez was fired, and her lawyers described the shot as "legally poor". At least four other high-ranking CDC executives also resigned last week, citing concerns about the direction of the agency.
