The chair of the Senate Health Committee has called on a panel of vaccine advisers to delay plans to meet this week, after accusing Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. of stacking the panel with unqualified members and vocal vaccine critics. Republican Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, a medical doctor who spent decades promoting vaccinations for children, wrote that the group Kennedy appointed lacks experience studying microbiology, epidemiology or immunology. Cassidy infamously voted to confirm RFK Jr. in February despite Kennedy’s long history of promoting public health conspiracy theories and anti-vaccine disinformation. On Tuesday, RFK Jr. appeared before a House subcommittee where he was grilled over his pledge to Senator Cassidy that he would not change the makeup of the vaccine advisory panel. This is Democratic Congressmember Kim Schrier of Washington.

Rep. Kim Schrier: “You lied to Senator Cassidy. You have lied to the American people. You have lied to parents about vaccines for 20 years. And I also want to be clear that I will lay all responsibility for every death from a vaccine-preventable illness at your feet.”