RFK Jnr defends CDC shake-up, as Democrats call for his resignation

US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jnr said on Thursday that firing a top government scientist was “absolutely necessary”, as he faced blistering criticism from Democrats urging him to resign over his steps to curb vaccines.

The Senate hearing, marked by sharp exchanges that often erupted into shouting matches, came days after the ousting of Sue Monarez, the former director of the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Her dismissal, accompanied by several high-level resignations and hundreds of earlier lay-offs, has plunged the nation’s premier public health agency into turmoil.