Senator Bill Cassidy criticized the Trump administration for contributing to vaccine skepticism among Americans following reports that two unvaccinated individuals in Pennsylvania died from measles. Cassidy stated, "It is irresponsible, it damages our country, and we have four people in Pennsylvania reportedly dead because of that sort of activity," during a Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing on Wednesday regarding President Donald Trump’s nominee for surgeon general, Nicole Saphier.
This marks Cassidy's ongoing criticism of Trump and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for undermining public confidence in childhood vaccines, as measles cases rise to their highest levels in decades. The reported deaths, which initially had conflicting information regarding their cause, have led to public disagreements between Kennedy and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro. Shapiro criticized Kennedy for allegedly directing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) not to report these deaths, stating, "It is … deeply concerning to learn that the Secretary personally intervened in an otherwise administrative process to direct the CDC to not report these Pennsylvania deaths, presumably because it doesn’t fit his phony narrative."
During the hearing, Cassidy expressed frustration at Saphier's responses regarding the debunked claim that vaccines cause autism, which Trump had recently suggested. Saphier stated, "I don’t know what causes autism … but I have not seen evidence that vaccines cause autism." Cassidy interjected, expressing concern about the ambiguity in her response, saying, "There is a little bit of wiggle room there. I am so sensitive to this."
Cassidy, the only Republican to openly challenge the administration's vaccination policies, will leave Congress at the end of the year after losing his primary to a candidate backed by Trump. Trump's health nominees have faced scrutiny over the administration's attempts to reduce childhood vaccine recommendations and the claims made by Trump and Kennedy regarding vaccine safety. Last month, Trump referred to the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine as "quite lethal" while signing an executive order aimed at reducing the childhood vaccine schedule. Saphier countered, "I can tell you that I do not believe the MMR vaccine to be lethal," and acknowledged the importance of addressing vaccine hesitancy. Cassidy responded, "I’m not sure the way to reach people with vaccine hesitancy is by feeding into untruths." Although Cassidy has shown support for Saphier, he has not committed to voting for her confirmation. The hearing did not include Heidi Overton, Trump's nominee for the Food and Drug Administration, whose confirmation hearing is still being scheduled.