Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Tuesday denied agreeing not to make changes to a key Centers for Disease Control and Prevention vaccine safety panel, which has caused a significant stir in the public health community. 

During a hearing with the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Tuesday, Rep. Kim Schrier (D-CA) asked Kennedy if he broke his promise to Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) by firing all 17 members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices earlier this month.

Recommended Stories

• Gates Foundation commits $1.6 billion toward worldwide vaccination effort
• Dr. Oz strikes deal with health insurers to reform prior authorizations
• WATCH LIVE: RFK Jr. and Dr. Oz give health insurance announcement

Kennedy appointed eight new members to replace members he fired with the stated motivation of ridding the panel of pharmaceutical company conflicts of interest, but public health advocates have sounded the alarm that the eight new panelists do not have much experience with epidemiology or vaccine science, and the two members that do are vocal vaccine skeptics.

But on Tuesday, Kennedy said during his House hearing that he “never made that agreement” with Cassidy not to change the ACIP panel. 

Cassidy, who chairs the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions and has a key position on the Senate Finance Committee, was a key vote necessary for Kennedy’s confirmation, but the pair’s disagreement over vaccines was a large stumbling block during the process.

In a surprise turn of events after fiery exchanges during Kennedy’s two confirmation hearings, Cassidy voted in favor of Kennedy’s confirmation in February. 

He gave a speech on the Senate floor shortly after his affirmative committee vote, outlining that Kennedy and Vice President JD Vance had assured him that the incoming HHS secretary would not make changes to vaccines without consulting his office. Cassidy also specifically said that Kennedy promised to “maintain” the advisory panel “without changes.” 

Kennedy responded to Schrier’s questioning on Tuesday about the agreement by saying that he “didn’t see that statement by Senator Cassidy.” 

“But if he said that I agreed to it, it would be inaccurate,” Kennedy said. 

HHS did not respond to the Washington Examiner‘s request to clarify Kennedy’s comment.

A spokesperson for Cassidy told the Washington Examiner that Kennedy’s response to Schrier was technically correct because the agreement only applied to the process of ACIP’s review of vaccine safety, not its personnel. 

“As Senator Cassidy has said publicly, the commitment was about the ACIP process, not staffing,” said the Cassidy spokesperson.

Cassidy told reporters earlier this month, following Kennedy’s disbanding of the ACIP board, that the agreement referred to “changing the process, not the committee itself.” 

The newly constructed ACIP panel is scheduled to meet on Wednesday and Thursday this week, but Cassidy said on X Monday evening that the meeting “should be delayed until the panel is fully staffed with more robust and balanced representation–as required by law–including those with more direct relevant expertise.” 

Cassidy said that, without a more balanced panel, “ACIP’s recommendations could be viewed with skepticism, which will work against the success of this Administration’s efforts.”