Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Louisiana Republican and chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, appeared exasperated, at times even livid, during today’s confirmation hearing for Sean Kaufman, MPH.
Kaufman, a senior adviser in global affairs at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR), an agency with the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Kaufman has a track record of vaccine-skeptic positions. Because ASPR is the federal government’s leading health security agency, senators on both sides of the aisle seemed concerned about how he would approach vaccine research and emergency response efforts.
He and CDC director nominee Erica Schwartz, MD, MPH, JD, (see related CIDRAP story today) are the first HHS nominees to come before the HELP committee since Cassidy lost his primary to a Trump-endorsed candidate this spring.
Now freed from the pressures of an upcoming election, Cassidy has taken a more confrontational stance with the president and his administration, including on policies that run contrary to established medical science.
Without the senator’s support, it is unlikely Kaufman’s nomination can advance.
Kaufman says his vaccine views ‘mischaracterized’
The most pointed exchange came when Cassidy brought up a now-deleted May 2025 LinkedIn post in which Kaufman questioned whether newborns should receive the hepatitis B vaccine. Kaufman implied that the vaccine might be contributing to increasing rates of autism in the United States.
There is no scientific basis linking autism to any type of vaccine, and the senator told Kaufman that he knows people who have died from vaccine-preventable illnesses, including hepatitis B.
“Why would you repeat the damn lies?” asked Cassidy, pounding his fist.
The fact that you’re casting doubt on [mRNA technology] is obviously concerning.
Kaufman said the LinkedIn post has been “mischaracterized,” and told the senators that he’s not anti-vaccine, though he does want greater scrutiny around vaccine safety. Some on the committee seemed to agree with the latter sentiment, including Sen. Roger Marshall, a Republican from Kansas.
Kaufman also said that, as a member of Generation X, he’s unskilled with social media, and removed the LinkedIn post because it was “dividing people.”
Cassidy seemed unconvinced and told Kaufman that he’s contributing to the public’s mistrust in life-saving vaccines.
Kaufman wants to curb pace of new mRNA research
ASPR is charged with preparing for and responding to public health emergencies, including emerging infectious diseases and biological attacks.
The agency oversees the national stockpile, which includes reserves of emergency medicine and vaccines, as well as the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA).
Last year, BARDA canceled 22 mRNA vaccine projects worth some $500 million. Kaufman said he supports the decision, as he believes there’s not enough research into how people have been affected by the COVID-19 mRNA vaccines. He wants a better scientific understanding of this technology before investing in new projects.
“It’s about being efficient and fiscally responsible,” said Kaufman. “Why would we invest in new vaccines that we could actually make better by simply asking questions of the population today?”
It’s about being efficient and fiscally responsible.
COVID-19 was the first time that mRNA was used on a large scale. Research shows that adverse events are rare and the risk is lower than severe complications related to contracting the virus.
Several senators pushed back on Kaufman’s logic, including Cassidy, who pointed out that improving the safety of medical care is a goal of scientific research.
The HELP chair noted that mRNA vaccines are arguably the fastest way to respond to emerging biological threats, making the technology a “cornerstone” of the country’s biosecurity response.
“The fact that you’re casting doubt on [mRNA technology] is obviously concerning,” he said.