Sanders releases trove of internal HHS emails showing RFK Jr. pressured CDC over vaccine messaging
Key takeaways
- Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Thursday released a tranche of Health and Human Services (HHS) emails that appear to show HHS Secretary Robert F.
- Less than a week later, Kennedy fired Monarez for failing to rubber stamp recommendations from the CDC s vaccine panel, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, Sanders said in a statement.
- Sanders requested a bipartisan investigation into her firing and called on Kennedy to resign.
Why this matters: political developments that affect policy direction and public trust.
Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Thursday released a tranche of Health and Human Services (HHS) emails that appear to show HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. pressuring the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) over its vaccine messaging.
Emails indicate that Kennedy directed the CDC s vaccine advisory panel to restrict access to vaccines, allowed researchers to access confidential data to indicate the disproven claim that vaccines cause autism and changed recommendations for the public to receive COVID-19 vaccines without input from the CDC.
Other emails also show that Kennedy s then chief of staff, Matthew Buckham, emailed former CDC Director Susan Monarez in August 2025 about the need for a political review of major decisions at CDC … to ensure that [the Immediate Office of the Secretary] and the CDC political leadership all have eyes on the decisions for approval/changes before they go into effect.