Sen Warnock slams RFK Jr while grilling him over CDC staffing cuts: ‘Have the decency to resign’
WASHINGTON, D.C.: Senator Raphael Warnock slammed Robert F Kennedy Jr on Wednesday, April 22, while questioning him over Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) staffing cuts that adversely affected the agency’s ability to respond to diseases like rabies and mad cow disease. He even asked the Health Secretary to step down from his post.
“Staff at the CDC rabies division in Atlanta, Georgia, have historically been able to field emergency calls 24/7 from providers about complex rabies cases using CDC expertise to determine appropriate care. Secretary Kennedy, since you and President Trump took office, do you know how many people are left to staff this 24/7 line?” the Democratic party member asked Kennedy.
Raphael Warnock tells Kennedy that 'we expect you to keep Americans alive'
The 72-year-old anti-vaccine activist responded, saying he’d no idea, leaving Warnock fuming in anger as he stated, “The incredible folks at the CDC in Atlanta, Georgia — they protect us every day from the threats that we don’t see. And they don’t get much credit for it, because of the stuff that does not happen.”
“And it’s okay for the general public not to wake up thinking about that. But we expect you to keep Americans alive,” he told Kennedy.
Raphael Warnock claims Kennedy's 'way in over your head'
Firing the Republican, Warnock further noted, “And the cutting that we’re seeing — these draconian cuts — for an agency that you said you wanted to restore to be the leader in infectious disease, yet you’re cutting the coverage of infectious disease.”
But the 56-year-old did not stop there as he slammed Kennedy for appearing to be distracted and added, “I think you’re dangerous to the American public, and you ought to be fired. And if you’re not fired, you ought to have the decency to resign. You’re way in over your head.”
Kennedy claims he's handled measles outbreak better than any other country
This came as Kennedy faced intense questions from other senators as well during two hearings on Capitol Hill on Wednesday.
Senator Ron Wyden called out Kennedy for his stance on vaccines. He said, “When it comes to vaccines, Robert Kennedy has used this once-in-a-lifetime platform to make parents doubt themselves and doubt their doctors.”
“The secretary has ducked, bobbed and weaved without taking the responsibility of saying what needs to be said: vaccines save lives in America,” he asserted.
The hearing also addressed the measles outbreak, which began in 2025 and is still ongoing. But Kennedy claimed that he “had nothing to do with the measles outbreak here. We have limited our outbreak better than any country in the world.”
