“I am very, very concerned that even qualified people have either had to change their positions or quit.”

Click here to watch Senator Blunt Rochester’s remarks.

U.S. Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), a member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, today questioned Dr. Erica Schwartz, who President Trump nominated to serve as Director of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

As Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. continues to dismantle critical Health and Human Services (HHS) programs and pursue policies that contradict science-backed research, Senator Blunt Rochester questioned Dr. Schwartz on her commitment to scientific evidence and her ability to maintain independence under Secretary Kennedy.

Senator Blunt Rochester’s exchange can be found here, and a key excerpt is below: 

Senator Blunt Rochester: “In January, Dr. Oz, Dr. Bhattacharya, and Dr. Makary presented a memo to then-Acting CDC Director Jim O’Neil recommending the U.S. adopt a narrower childhood vaccine schedule, based primarily on a comparison with Denmark. Do you agree with the memo’s recommendation to no longer universally recommend all 17 vaccines?”

Dr. Schwartz: “I agree with the president of the United States, who asked HHS to take a look at that memo and to find out if those recommendations are sound or if they are not sound. So, if I’m confirmed as the CDC Director, you have my commitment to take a look at that said memo to understand whether comparing to Denmark makes sense or doesn’t make sense…”

Senator Blunt Rochester: “I know that with Senator Cassidy, we have talked about this issue of vaccines for a while, particularly comparing ourselves to Denmark, which is ridiculous. I will share with you, while I think you are immensely qualified, I am very, very concerned that even qualified people have either had to change their positions or quit. And so, again, I wish us all luck on our public health at this moment.”