Cassidy Says He’ll Support CDC Nominee After Changes to Agency’s Autism Statement

The chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, Senator Bill Cassidy, says he will vote to move President Trump’s nominee to head the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention out of committee and to a full vote after the agency made changes to its webpage on vaccines and autism.Dr. Cassidy, a board-certified doctor with three decades of experience, had expressed skepticism during a confirmation hearing that Dr. Erica Schwartz would be able to stand up for science if Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. or other administration officials pushed non-scientific ideas. Dr. Cassidy said the agency needed a head that would “actually stand up to crazy, stupid things being said” that are undermining faith in immunization.During a shortened committee meeting Thursday, Dr. Cassidy read a statement explaining his reversal. “After speaking with Dr. Schwartz again after the hearing, reviewing the transcript, and speaking to those who have served with her and know her well, I’m confident that she knows what she is doing and will stand against those who do not,” Dr. Cassidy said.“As a sign of good faith, HHS has now modified the CDC’s autism and vaccines web page. There’s more to do to repair the damage that has been done to the U.S. public health response, but this is a start,” Dr. Cassidy added.During Mr. Kennedy’s own nomination, Dr. Cassidy had raised concerns about vaccine skepticism but agreed to cast one of the deciding votes to approve Mr. Kennedy’s nomination after getting a promise that the nominee would not remove language from the CDC web page saying that vaccines do not cause autism.Despite the pledge, the page was altered in November with conflicting messaging. A header on the site continued to state, “Vaccines do not cause Autism,” but wording was added saying the statement was not based on evidence. A footnote said the assurance about vaccines remained on the site only because of a promise made by Mr. Kennedy during his confirmation hearing.Dr. Cassidy had responded to the change with a pro-vaccine message on X that did not directly address Mr. Kennedy’s action or his pledge.“What parents need to hear right now is vaccines for measles, polio, hepatitis B and other childhood diseases are safe and effective and will not cause autism. Any statement to the contrary is wrong, irresponsible, and actively makes Americans sicker,” Dr. Cassidy wrote.This week’s change to the website has scrubbed references to Dr. Cassidy. The footnote now reads: “*Scientists have not identified the root causes of autism. HHS continues to support rigorous scientific research and will update this page as reliable new evidence becomes available.”The ranking member of the Health Committee, Senator Bernie Sanders, read his own statement at Thursday’s meeting. He said he was impressed by Dr. Schwartz but still wouldnvote against her nomination.“The issue at hand is not complicated. And that is, will we have people in the Trump administration who have the guts to stand up to people who are anti-science and into conspiracy theories? And I’m afraid that right now within HHS we have a secretary who will not tolerate dissent,” Mr. Sanders said, adding he didn’t think Dr. Schwartz would stand up to Mr. Kennedy.The vote on Dr. Schwartz was put off until next week because some members of the panel were absent due to family situations. It was unclear if the absent senators were Republicans whose votes were needed to forward the nomination out of committee.The CDC has been without a permanent leader for most of Mr. Trump’s second term. The president withdrew his first pick an hour before his confirmation hearing was set to start because it was believed he did not have votes to be confirmed.The acting CDC director, Susan Monarez, was later confirmed but she was ousted after just a month following a clash with the administration over policy. There has not been a permanent leader at the agency since Ms. Monarez was forced out.

Cassidy Says He’ll Support CDC Nominee After Changes to Agency’s Autism Statement

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