In a statement posted to her social media pages, Kerry Kennedy lambasted her brother for causing the ongoing turmoil within the CDC and. his attempts to reshape federal policy on vaccine mandates MIKE STOBBE, AMANDA SEITZ, CHRIS MEGERIAN and Anthony Orrico News Reporter
20:16 ET, 05 Sep 2025Updated 20:17 ET, 05 Sep 2025
In a statement posted to her social media pages, Kerry Kennedy pointed to the millions of lives saved by vaccines dating back to the development of the first smallpox vaccine in 1796.(Image: PA)
Following Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s heated and contentious testimony in front of Senate lawmakers on Thursday, Kennedy’s sister, Mary Kerry Kennedy is calling on her brother to resign, citing his shakeups at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and his attempts to drastically change federal policy on vaccine mandates.
In a statement posted to her social media pages, Kerry Kennedy pointed to the millions of lives saved by vaccines dating back to the development of the first smallpox vaccine in 1796.
“Since then, countless vaccines have been developed and saved millions of lives. Vaccines work. This is not up for debate,” Kerry Kennedy’s statement read. “Medical decisions belong in the hands of trained and licensed professionals, not incompetent misguided leadership.”
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A flashpoint is expected in the coming weeks as a key advisory committee, which Kennedy has reshaped with vaccine skeptics, is expected to issue new recommendations on immunizations(Image: Getty Images)
Kerry Kennedy then went on to praise the various individuals who have resigned from the CDC in protest, after Secretary Kennedy moved to fire the CDC Director, Dr Susan Monarez less than one month into her tenure, after she reportedly refused ” rubber-stamp unscientific, reckless directives,” according to her attorneys.
“I stand with the many courageous individuals in the medical and scientific communities who have set aside their vital work to speak truth to power to keep the public safe,” Kennedy said.
She concluded her statement calling on her brother to resign from his position.
“Enough is enough. Secretary Kennedy must resign. Now.,” she said.
The turmoil within the CDC triggered rare bipartisan alarm as Kennedy tries to advance anti-vaccine policies that are contradicted by decades of scientific research.
Two administration officials said Jim O’Neill, the second-in-command at the Department of Health and Human Services, would supplant Susan Monarez, a longtime government scientist. O’Neill, a former investment executive who also served at the federal health department under President George W. Bush, does not have a medical background. The officials, who confirmed the change, requested anonymity to discuss personnel decisions before a public announcement.
A flashpoint is expected in the coming weeks as a key advisory committee, which Kennedy has reshaped with vaccine skeptics, is expected to issue new recommendations on immunizations. The panel is scheduled to review standard childhood shots for measles, hepatitis and other diseases.
Kennedy has not explained the decision to oust Monarez less than a month after she was sworn in, but he warned that more turnover may be ahead.(Image: Getty Images)
Two Republican senators called for congressional oversight and some Democrats said Kennedy should be fired ahead of Kennedy’s testimony before Congress this week.
Kennedy has not explained the decision to oust Monarez less than a month after she was sworn in, but he warned that more turnover may be ahead.
“There’s a lot of trouble at the CDC and it’s going to require getting rid of some people over the long term, in order for us to change the institutional culture,” Kennedy said at a news conference in Texas.
The White House has only said that Monarez was “not aligned with” President Donald Trump’s agenda.
Monarez’s lawyers said she refused “to rubber-stamp unscientific, reckless directives and fire dedicated health experts.” She is fighting her dismissal, saying the decision must come directly from Trump, who nominated her in March. The president has not said anything publicly about the matter.
The saga began Wednesday night with the administration’s announcement that Monarez would no longer lead the CDC. In response, three officials — Dr. Debra Houry, Dr. Demetre Daskalakis and Dr. Daniel Jernigan — resigned from senior roles at the agency.
Daskalakis, who resigned as head of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said, “I fear that children will be hurt by poor decision making around vaccines.”
“You cannot dismantle public health and expect it to still work,” he said.
Jernigan stepped down as director of the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases and Houry quit her post as the agency’s deputy director and chief medical officer.
Kerry Kennedy then went on to praise the various individuals who have resigned from the CDC in protest, after Secretary Kennedy moved to fire the CDC Director, Dr Susan Monarez less than one month into her tenure(Image: Getty Images for RFK Ripple Of Hope)
Houry told The Associated Press that Monarez had tried to guard against political meddling in scientific research and health recommendations.
“We were going to see if she was able to weather the storm. And when she was not, we were done,” Houry said.
Dr. Richard Besser, a former CDC acting director, said Monarez told him that she had refused orders to fire her management team. He also said she refused to automatically sign off on any recommendations from Kennedy’s handpicked vaccine advisers.
“Dr. Monarez was one of the last lines of defense against this administration’s dangerous agenda,” said Besser, now president of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which helps support The Associated Press Health and Science Department.