The committee voted 12-10 to move forward with Erica Schwartz’s nomination to serve as the next director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and 12-11 for Sean Kaufman to serve as the next administrator of Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR).
The vote had been postponed for a week due to attendance issues.
HELP Chair Bill Cassidy (R-La.) said the "serious public health challenges" going in the U.S. necessitated leadership at agencies like the CDC and ASPR. During Kaufman's confirmation hearing, Cassidy expressed frustration with his prior criticisms of hepatitis B vaccine birth doses.
He stated at the start of the session Thursday that "you can't have perfection" when explaining why he was supporting Kaufman.
“Mr. Kaufman has said some pretty stupid things and irresponsible things regarding immunization. He has owned up to that in his conversations with me. I am assured that if he is confirmed, he will not be involved in vaccine policy, and nor will he be the ultimate decisionmaker on certain issues like mRNA because of his past statements,” Cassidy said.
HELP Committee ranking member Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) reiterated that while he was impressed with Schwartz, he would not be supporting her nomination because he did not think she would stand up to Kennedy when needed.
“We have a secretary of Health and Human Services who fosters and propagates conspiracy theories on vaccines and other important issues. And the question, I think, big question before this committee: Are nominees going to be prepared to stand up to those conspiracy theories, those dangerous theories?” Sanders said. “I do not, unfortunately, think that Dr. Schwartz is prepared to do that.”
