Cassidy says RFK Jr. broke promises on vaccine policy, public health
Cassidy accused RFK Jr. of breaking promises on vaccines, escalating a Republican split over who controls public health policy and trust.
Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy said Robert F. Kennedy Jr. violated the promises that helped win his confirmation vote. Cassidy, a physician who chairs the Senate health committee, told Margaret Brennan on Face the Nation that public health built on deception will fail, saying, “If you build public health upon a foundation of lies, then you're going to have the absence of adequate public health.”
The interview was conducted on June 25, 2026 and aired on June 28, 2026. Cassidy said it was “easy to surmise” that Kennedy made commitments to him to secure his support and that those commitments to him and the country “have been violated.” Cassidy said on the Senate floor on February 4, 2025, that Kennedy had promised to preserve the CDC’s vaccine advisory process.
On June 9, 2025, Kennedy removed all 17 sitting members of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, the panel that advises the CDC on vaccine safety, efficacy and clinical need. ACIP recommendations shape how vaccines are used, including immunization schedules, insurance coverage, provider reimbursement and the federal Vaccines for Children program. HHS reconstituted the panel to restore public trust in vaccines, but the move alarmed public-health officials and weakened the country’s readiness for infectious-disease threats. HHS announced eight new ACIP members on June 11, 2025, and HHS and CDC named five more on September 15, 2025.
He challenged Kennedy on vaccines and abortion medicine in a Senate hearing on April 22, 2026, and earlier, on September 4, 2025, questioned him over mRNA vaccines and conflicts of interest among Kennedy’s handpicked advisers. Cassidy also urged delaying a CDC vaccine meeting because he said the panel lacked enough expertise.
Kennedy and allies in the Make America Healthy Again movement have targeted Cassidy in Louisiana politics after his support for the nomination. Democratic Rep. Kim Schrier said Kennedy lied to Cassidy about keeping the vaccine panel unchanged, while CDC vaccine advisers fired by Kennedy said the committee had lost credibility.
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