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A Republican senator is calling out his own party's vaccine stance. Sen. Bill Cassidy publicly blamed the Trump administration's vaccine policies for measles deaths in Pennsylvania — the worst U.S. outbreak in over 35 years. He also pressed surgeon general nominee Dr. Nicole Saphier to unequivocally state that vaccines don't cause autism, warning that hedging on settled science has real consequences.
A Republican senator is calling out his own party's vaccine stance. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), a physician and chair of the Senate health committee, opened a nominee hearing with a pointed rebuke of the Trump administration's approach to vaccines — blaming it directly for measles deaths in Pennsylvania amid the nation's worst outbreak in more than 35 years. Cassidy pressed surgeon general nominee Dr. Nicole Saphier to clearly state that vaccines do not cause autism, warning that vague language gives cover for anti-science policymaking.
Saphier initially hedged before ultimately saying, "I do not believe childhood vaccines cause autism" — and called the MMR vaccine "our greatest tool for combating measles." Cassidy also criticized a Trump executive order that disrupts the childhood vaccine schedule, calling it a threat to child safety.
By the Numbers:
Why it matters: With vaccine misinformation shaping federal health policy, a rare intra-party rebuke from a senior Republican physician signals growing concern that political ideology — not science — is driving decisions with life-or-death consequences.
