Kennedy's firing of all 17 ACIP members and the White House's role

Case

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fired all 17 members of the CDC's vaccine advisory committee (ACIP) in June 2025 and replaced them with his own appointees. At an April 22, 2026 Senate Finance hearing he reportedly said President Trump and White House staff approved the firings, which Sens. Wyden and Hassan say contradicts his earlier framing. On March 16, 2026 a federal judge found the reconstituted panel violated the Federal Advisory Committee Act and blocked 13 appointees; ACIP has not met since, and the administration's appeal was argued Oct. 6.

The firings and who approved them
Documented: in June 2025 Kennedy fired all 17 sitting members of ACIP, saying it was needed to 're-establish public confidence in vaccine science,' and appointed new members, many of them known vaccine skeptics. HHS announced the reconstitution on June 9, 2025.
Claimed (Sens. Wyden and Hassan's characterization of his April 22, 2026 Senate Finance testimony, hearing transcript not yet reviewed): in answer to Sen. Hassan, Kennedy said the White House Domestic Policy Council and President Trump signed off on firing all 17 members and on rewriting ACIP's charter. The senators say that contradicts nearly a year of public statements framing the decision as his own judgment call.
Documented: on June 17, 2026 the senators demanded records by July 17, 2026 on the White House's role, the vetting of replacements, the dismissal of the HHS official who reviewed ACIP members' conflicts of interest, and compliance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act. No HHS response has been found.

Outside influence (as alleged)
Claimed (by the senators, citing CBS and the New York Times): the two-year vetting process for ACIP appointments was replaced by an opaque one reportedly shaped by attorney Aaron Siri, whose firm the letter says received $6 million in 2023 from the Informed Consent Action Network (ICAN), which has active litigation against HHS. Siri later presented to ACIP attacking the childhood schedule.
Claimed (by the senators, citing the New York Times): after the March 2026 court ruling, Kennedy revised ACIP's charter in April 2026 in line with a wishlist Siri and ICAN had submitted the month before, broadening the 'expertise' criteria to non-medical fields, adding non-voting liaison seats for anti-vaccine organizations, dropping the three-meetings-a-year requirement, and directing the committee to identify 'gaps in vaccine safety research.'

Court rulings and current status
Documented: on March 16, 2026, U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy (D. Mass.) granted the American Academy of Pediatrics a preliminary injunction, finding the reconstituted ACIP violated the Federal Advisory Committee Act and that the CDC's Jan. 5, 2026 childhood-schedule cut was contrary to law and arbitrary and capricious for bypassing ACIP. He wrote that of 15 members then on the panel, only six appeared to have meaningful vaccine experience, and he set aside ACIP votes taken under Kennedy, including ending the universal hepatitis B birth-dose recommendation.
Documented: HHS spokesman Andrew Nixon said the department looked forward to the ruling being overturned. The administration did not appeal the schedule and vote portions and appealed only the block on 13 appointees; at an Oct. 6, 2026 First Circuit hearing, DOJ attorney Matthew Zorn asked the court to vacate it, while Chief Judge David Barron said the order lacked an explanation of why the relief was authorized.
Documented: since the ruling ACIP has not met, canceling two meetings, and an Oct. 21-23 meeting would likely also be canceled if the panel is not reconstituted first, per Reuters (Oct. 6, 2026). A ruling from the First Circuit was pending as of that report.

Note
The testimony contradiction is the senators' characterization (transcript not yet reviewed); the Siri/ICAN influence claims are allegations; the First Circuit has not yet ruled and HHS has not publicly answered the senators' June 2026 records demand.

Sources
[1] Sens. Wyden and Hassan letter to HHS Sec. Kennedy on ACIP firings (https://www.finance.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/hassan_over_acip_firings.pdf) · 2026-06-17
[2] The Hill (syndicated on Yahoo News) (https://sg.news.yahoo.com/federal-court-blocks-kennedy-vaccine-200603442.html) · 2026-03-16
[3] Reuters (syndicated on Yahoo News) (https://sg.news.yahoo.com/us-appeals-court-weighs-block-183555060.html) · 2026-10-06
[4] Sen. Wyden / Senate Finance Committee press release (https://www.finance.senate.gov/ranking-members-news/wyden-hassan-press-rfk-jr-on-white-house-involvement-in-decision-to-dismantle-vaccine-recommendations-panel) · 2026-06-18

Connections

Same actor — Kennedy's vaccine-injury litigation ties and the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program overhaul (2025–2026)
Both involve Kennedy and attorney Aaron Siri, whom senators allege shaped both the ACIP overhaul and the push to change the vaccine injury program.

Same context — RFK Jr.'s false and misleading health claims as HHS Secretary
The ACIP overhaul and the measles-era vaccine claims are part of the same HHS vaccine policy record under Kennedy.