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Year: 2025

RFK Jr denies telling former CDC director to approve vaccine recommendations

RFK Jr denies telling former CDC director to approve vaccine recommendations

Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. accused his former head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of lying about vaccine recommendations. Kennedy appeared before the Senate Finance Committee on Thursday for a hearing focused on President Donald Trump’s healthcare agenda, dubbed Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) on the campaign trail last year. HHS SECRETARY ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR. TO FACE SENATE PANEL AFTER CDC TURMOIL But the recent turmoil at the CDC caused by the firing of former CDC Director Susan Monarez and the exodus of several senior officials, along with Kennedy’s view on vaccines, became a focal point for both Senate Republicans and Democrats on the panel. During a fiery exchange at the start of the hearing between Kennedy and Sen. Ron Wyden, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, Kennedy accused Monarez of lying in a recent Wall Street Journal opinion piece. Monarez was fired less than a month after being confirmed by the Senate and charged in her op-ed that during a meeting with the secretary last month, she was pressured to resign or be fired after being ordered to “pre-approve the recommendations of a vaccine advisory panel newly filled with people who have publicly expressed anti-vaccine rhetoric.” BIPARTISAN FURY AT CDC: SENATORS DEMAND PROBE, REJECT VACCINE GUIDANCE AS ILLEGITIMATE Wyden questioned whether Kennedy did tell Monarez to “just go along with vaccine recommendations even if she didn’t think such recommendations aligned with scientific evidence?” “Yes or no? You have an opportunity to call her a liar. If you say that you didn’t, do it,” the Oregon Democrat said. “But I’d like to see you respond to this.” “No,” Kennedy said. “No, I did not say that to her. And I never had a private meeting with her.” PREVIOUS CDC DIRECTORS ACCUSE RFK JR. OF ENDANGERING ALL AMERICANS IN NY TIMES ESSAY Kennedy argued earlier in the hearing that the reason he fired Monarez, along with the entirety of the CDC’s vaccine recommendation panel to restore the CDC to the “gold standard” of healthcare. “America is home to 4.2% of the world’s population. Yet we had nearly 20% COVID deaths. We literally did worse than any country in the world. And the people at the CDC who oversaw that process, who put masks on our children, who closed our schools, are the people who will be leaving,” Kennedy said. “And that’s why we need bold, competent and creative new leadership at CDC.” “People are able and willing to chart a new course,” he continued. “As my father once said, ‘Progress is a nice word, [but] change [is a] motivator. And change has its enemies.’ That’s why we need new blood at CDC.”

Republican leader targets tax-exempt status of CCP-linked nonprofit tied to violent protests

Republican leader targets tax-exempt status of CCP-linked nonprofit tied to violent protests

FIRST ON FOX: House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith is demanding records from The People’s Forum, a tax-exempt nonprofit he says has operated as a de facto foreign agent for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) while using U.S. taxpayer benefits to fund protests and spread propaganda. In a letter sent September 4 to Executive Director Manolo De Los Santos, Smith accused The People’s Forum of directly inciting violence and unrest across the United States. “Using U.S. taxpayer-subsidized tax-exempt status to promote foreign propaganda on behalf of a nation hostile to U.S. interests, while simultaneously justifying terrorism, is unacceptable and potentially in violation of U.S. law,” Smith told Fox News Digital in a statement. “The American people deserve transparency, and this Committee will hold The People’s Forum accountable for its ties to the CCP and its role in spreading violence and chaos in our communities.” Within hours of Hamas’ October 7 massacre in Israel, Smith claims the group publicly justified the terrorist attacks, declaring that the perpetrators “have the right to resist”—a statement condemned by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul as “abhorrent and morally repugnant.” HOUSE COMMITTEE ALLEGES BIDEN ADMIN USED FUNDS TO BACK ANTI-GOVERNMENT PROTESTS IN ISRAEL Smith is now demanding that The People’s Forum turn over by September 18 a broad set of records, including donor lists, contracts, and communications with Singham and other foreign principals. If the group refuses, it could face subpoenas, depositions, referrals to the IRS for revocation of tax-exempt status, and possible criminal referrals to the Justice Department.  The group also organized a Times Square rally the following day that drew national criticism. Beyond its stance on Israel, Smith said the nonprofit played a role in inciting riots and disruptive protests at college campuses, as well as violent demonstrations against Immigration and Customs Enforcement, including in Los Angeles where clashes with law enforcement resulted in dozens of arrests. Smith also pointed to The People’s Forum’s role in promoting pro-CCP narratives. The group has hosted events glorifying the Chinese revolution, partnered with Beijing-aligned collectives such as the Qiao Collective, and maintained close ties to media outlets within former tech mogul Neville Roy Singham’s pro-China influence network. Public reporting suggests The People’s Forum has accepted $20 million from Singham and his wife Jodie Evans, the founder of Code Pink, from 2017 to 2022, routed through shell companies and donor-advised funds, according to Smith’s letter.  MAJOR COLLEGES FACE HEAT OVER CHINESE SCHOLARSHIP TIES AS ESPIONAGE CONCERNS MOUNT Smith’s letter notes that The People’s Forum admitted to receiving money from Singham, a wealthy American expatriate now living in Shanghai with longstanding CCP ties. Smith argued that this financial structure, paired with the nonprofit’s activities, amounts to operating as an unregistered agent of a foreign power under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The chairman warned that using the privileges of tax-exempt status to spread foreign propaganda while acting as a foreign agent is “unacceptable and illegal.” He cited precedents in which the Justice Department indicted foreign nationals for similar influence operations using nonprofits as fronts.  FBI records attached to the letter show Singham was investigated as early as the 1970s for ties to groups “inimical to U.S. interests,” while later working as a consultant for Huawei, the Chinese telecom giant with documented CCP links. The People’s Forum did not respond to a request for comment.