Pressed by questions in the US Senate on Thursday, Donald Trump's Health Secretary, Robert Kennedy Jr., attempted to defend the dismissal of the director of the country's main health agency, at a time when calls for her resignation are growing.
"We need bold, competent, and creative new leadership" at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the minister told a Senate committee, defending the dismissal of the scientist and the elimination of numerous jobs within the organization.
"They didn't do their job. Their job was to keep us healthy. I have to fire some of these people to make sure this doesn't happen again," he said during a tense hearing.
Susan Monarez's dismissal as head of the CDC sparked a major controversy in the United States last week. She had claimed through her lawyers that she was forced out following her refusal to approve "unscientific and dangerous guidelines" sought by the minister, who is known for his anti-vaccine stance.
Robert Kennedy Jr. was accused Thursday by several Democratic senators of lying under oath earlier this year when he promised lawmakers he would respect science and maintained that he would not prevent Americans from getting vaccines.
"Sir, you're a charlatan, that's what you are," thundered Democratic Senator Maria Cantwell.
"It is in the best interest of the country that Robert Kennedy Jr. resign, and if he doesn't, Donald Trump should fire him before there are more casualties," urged Senator Ron Wyden, another Democrat.
The day before, more than a thousand current and former ministry employees called on him to resign in an open letter, accusing him of "endangering" the population.
Since taking office, Robert Kennedy Jr. has initiated a sweeping overhaul of U.S. health agencies and the country's vaccine policy, firing leading experts, restricting access to Covid-19 vaccines, and cutting funding for the development of new ones.
Measures often taken against scientific consensus and criticized by outside experts.
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