Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) Asked Sec. Kennedy: “How Can You Be That Ignorant?” Beside Him is Sen. Rick Bennett (D-CO) at This Morning’s Hearing.
A Democratic Senator at Today’s Hearing Before the Finance Committee on Kennedy’s Mismanaement of the CDC
At a contentious hearing before the Finance Committee in Washington, DC, the arrogant Secretary of HHS Kennedy went even further to alienate members of the Committee – even the Republicans who voted for his confirmation in February of this year’: LIke Senator Bill Cassidy, (R-LA) who is also a medical doctor.
Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) supported Kennedy’s apppointment, but has expressed no regret for this decision to date. She is concerned, but has not called for his resignation, as others have.
Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) asked Secretary Kennedy how many people died from covid. Kennedy responded that he would like to see the data on the number covid deaths. Senator Warner shot back: “How can you be that ignorant – not to know how many deaths therre were from covid? Senator Cortez Masto, (D- NH) advised Kennedy this informadtion was public – you prefer to ignore that data because it doesn’t match your agenda.”
Senator John Barrasso, (R-WY) who is also a physician, said that one of Trump’s biggest accomplishments was the development of the covid vaccine. He went on to recount how President Washington protected his troops by the development of treatments for ailments during wartime. “I support vaccines. They work,” he said. “I’m a doctor. Vaccines work.” That assertion that vaccines work followed a similar comment from Senator Bill Cassidy, (R-LA), also a doctor who is up for re-elecdtion next year. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) “Two doctors have already given assusrances that vaccines work,”she said. She then called for Kennedy’s resigntion saying that he has broken his commitment to them on vaccines.
Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) called Kennedy a “charlaton.” The Senator said that she believed that western states would have to rely on a blue state alliance that has been formed by California, Oregon and Washington recentlly. It’s an effort for the Alliance to take scientific “stewardship” into their own hands. This was found necessary after Kennedy, an anti-vaxer advocate, took control of vaccines. That came largely because of his firing of CDC’s director because she would not pre-approve an anti-vaxer panel recommendation and because she refused to fire some of her staff. Today Kennedy called her a “lier” a the hearing.
Other states in the northeast are considering forming a simillar alliance according to a front page article in “The New York Times” today.
Politics apparently don’t matter to the Arrogant Kennedy. That’s because President Trump is so in awe of a member of the Kennedy family in his cabinet that he is willing to overlook the challenges presented by Kennedy’s use of his Ouija board for staffing decisions at the CDC and his anti-vaccine policies.
“When you make an accusation, its more of a confession,” said one Senator at the Finance Committee Hearing today. That comment followed Kennedy shouting at one Senator: “You are lying.” Kennedy was not placed under oath by the Committee chair, a Republican, so his lying was rampant.