{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.warnock.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/warnock-calls-on-president-trump-to-fire-secretary-kennedy-following-turmoil-at-cdc/", "Warnock Calls on President Trump to Fire Secretary Kennedy Following Turmoil at CDC", "2025-09-04", "2025", "2025-09", "Democrat", "Senate", "GA", "Raphael G. Warnock", "W000790", "www.warnock.senate.gov", "warnock", "https://www.warnock.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/", "scraper", "In Thursday\u2019s Senate Finance Committee hearing, Senator Reverend Warnock grilled Health and Human Services Secretary Kennedy on his incompetent leadership overseeing the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)\n\nSecretary Kennedy\u2019s incompetence has impacted chronic disease and cancer research, harmed efforts to protect servicemember\u2019s health, and jeopardized America\u2019s public health infrastructure to respond to infectious diseases\n\nThe hearing follows last month\u2019s shooting at the CDC that claimed the life of a DeKalb County police officer and turmoil over firings and resignations of top CDC leadership\n\nSenator Warnock to Secretary Kennedy: \u201cYou are a hazard to the health of the American people. I think that you ought to resign. And if you do not resign, the President of the United States, who put forward Operation Warp Speed, which worked, should fire you\u201d\n\nAbove: Senator Warnock questioning Secretary Kennedy in a Senate Finance Committee hearing\n\nWatch the exchange HERE\n\nWashington, D.C. \u2013 Today, U.S. Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA) called on President Trump to fire Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for his gross mismanagement of the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The Senate Finance Committee hearing follows last month\u2019s shooting at the CDC that claimed the life of a DeKalb County police officer and turmoil over firings and resignations of top CDC leadership. Secretary Kennedy\u2019s incompetence has impacted chronic disease and cancer research, harmed efforts to protect servicemember\u2019s health, and jeopardized America\u2019s public health infrastructure to respond to infectious diseases.\n\n\u201cYou are a hazard to the health of the American people. I think that you ought to resign. And if you do not resign, the President of the United States, who put forward Operation Warp Speed, which worked, should fire you,\u201d Senator Warnock said to Secretary Kennedy.\n\nDuring his line of questioning, Senator Warnock pressed Secretary Kennedy on his extremist beliefs that are dismantling the nation\u2019s public health infrastructure, leaving hundreds of Georgia public health workers without a job, and putting children at risk by spreading misinformation about vaccines.\n\n\u201cDespite your lack of credentials and expertise, clearly, you have an agenda. It is a threat to the public health of the American people. It\u2019s clear that you are carrying out your extremist beliefs,\u201d Senator Warnock said to Secretary Kennedy.\n\nLast month, Senator Warnock reaffirmed his commitment to supporting Georgia\u2019s CDC employees following the shooting at the CDC that claimed the life of a DeKalb County police officer. Earlier this year, Senator Warnock voted against Secretary Kennedy to lead HHS, the agency that oversees the CDC, due to concerns over disturbing comments and long-held beliefs of Kennedy that would threaten health care costs, quality, and access for millions of Georgians and Americans. Since the CDC and its employees became a target of this administration, Senator Warnock has led several efforts defending their employment and the crucial role they play in keeping the nation safe. This includes joining them at a rally, delivering a floor speech opposing Secretary Kennedy\u2019s nomination, demanding answers from administration nominees at Congressional hearings, and more. Since coming to the Senate, the Senator has led the effort to secure federal funding for the CDC, and he will continue those critical efforts.\n\nWatch the Senator\u2019s full remarks and line of questioning HERE.\n\nSee below a transcript of key exchanges between Senator Warnock and Secretary Kennedy:\n\nSenator Warnock (SW): \u201cLess than a month ago, we received the heartbreaking news that a gunman opened fire at the C-D-C campus in Atlanta, Georgia. [\u2026] DeKalb County police officer David Rose was killed, and shots hit the buildings on campus in at least 180 places, narrowly missing the C-D-C\u2019s day care center. Law enforcement recovered nearly 500 shell casings. Clearly, he came to do a lot of damage. It\u2019s a miracle that thanks to the quick action of Atlanta and state law enforcement, more people were not killed. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation announced that, prior to the attack, the gunman expressed discontent with the COVID vaccine and, quote, \u2018wanted to make the public aware of his\u2026distrust of the vaccines.\u2019 Secretary Kennedy, I assume you\u2019re aware of these disturbing reports of the gunman\u2019s motives?\u201d\n\nSecretary Kennedy (SK): \u201cYes.\u201d\n\n[\u2026]\n\nSW: \u201cHad you ever even been to the C-D-C as Secretary before the shooting on August 8?\u201d\n\nSK: \u201cNo.\u201d\n\nSW: \u201cLet\u2019s return to the shooting and aftermath. Secretary Kennedy, I\u2019m about to ask a series of yes or no questions about the events of the past month. And I would appreciate just a yes or no response. [\u2026] Did you criticize Dr. Monarez for her statements to C-D-C following the shooting where she said, quote, \u2018misinformation can be dangerous\u2019?\u201d\n\nSK: \u201cI don\u2019t believe so. I have no record of that.\u201d\n\nSW: \u201cDid you demand that she fire career scientists or public experts at the C-D-C?\u201d\n\nSK: \u201cYes.\u201d\n\n[\u2026]\n\nSW: \u201cDid you say the C-D-C was, quote, \u2018the most corrupt federal agency in the history of the world\u2019?\u201d\n\nSK: \u201cNot the history of the world, but definitely in HHS. I did not say that. But I did say it\u2019s the most corrupt agency in HHS, and maybe the government.\u201d\n\nSW: \u201cSo you called the C-D-C corrupt. And did you say that C-D-C employees are, quote, \u2018horrible people\u2019? Did you say they are killing children and they do not care?\u201d\n\nSK: \u201cNo.\u201d\n\nSW: \u201cOkay, I think that we all have a history of listening to you and these answers, but you\u2019re on the record for a number of these statements. Despite your lack of credentials and expertise, clearly, you have an agenda. It is a threat to the public health of the American people. It\u2019s clear that you are carrying out your extremist beliefs, which is why you attempted to fire\u2014\u201d [CROSS SPEAKING] \u201cI\u2019m speaking. Secretary Kennedy, for the first time, we\u2019re seeing deaths from children from measles. We haven\u2019t seen that in two decades. We\u2019re seeing that under your watch. You are a hazard to the health of the American people. I think that you ought to resign. And if you do not resign, the President of the United States, who put forward Operation Warp Speed, which worked, should fire you.\u201d\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:10:29Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.warnock.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/warnock-calls-on-president-trump-to-fire-secretary-kennedy-following-turmoil-at-cdc/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.09039805829525, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}