“This May Not Be Fixable” “People Will Die” Committee Democrats Condemn RFK Jr. and Trump-Musk Administration for Purging a Combined 1,000 Years of Expertise from the FDA

Washington, D.C. (April 10, 2025)—Yesterday, Committee Democrats denounced the Trump Administration’s purge of thousands of Food and Drug Administration (FDA) workers and questioned witnesses on the wide range of ways such cuts endanger the health and safety of all Americans.  Committee Republicans, on the other hand, leaned into conspiracies and attacked childhood vaccines. 

The hearing included frightening and brutally honest testimony from Dr. David Kessler, Former Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Committee Democrats sounded the alarm on the loss of expertise and rampant anti-science beliefs within the Trump-Musk Administration.  

• Pointing out China’s rising global dominance in the sciences, Dr. Kessler asked the Committee:  “Do you want China to eat our lunch when it comes to science and innovation?  We need to recognize that China’s point is to surpass us in the sciences, and we need to quickly act to make the necessary investments to shore up our competitiveness and avoid putting our nation at risk.”
• When Rep. Ro Khanna highlighted Trump and RFK Jr.’s purging of top scientific minds from government service, Dr. Kessler explained, “This feels a little surreal—just sitting here.  Because everybody wants a stronger FDA.  Everybody wants more regulation.  ‘Fix this.  Make sure that infant formula is safe.  Make sure that that drug is safe.  Make sure that dietary supplement is safe.  Do a better job.  Go here, go there, make sure this import—right?—doesn’t contain any harmful products.’  But over the last several weeks, this agency has been devastated.”
• Rep. Dave Min and Dr. Kessler highlighted the importance of peer reviewed science in response to a Republican member’s vaccine conspiracy theories:
  • Dr. Kessler stated:  “I am a pediatrician here and it just is very important to state there is no scientific link between vaccines and autism.  Respectfully, on the issue on VAERS [Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System]—VAERS is an open reporting system, and you have to look and ask the question, you have to apply scientific principles.”   
  • Rep. Min agreed:  “Facts are facts.  Data is data.  And a random website is not necessarily the best way to get the real data.” 
  • On the importance of peer review, Dr. Kessler stated:  “Just because you see a reaction in a database, you have to ask whether there is causation…”
  • Rep. Min followed up, “It’s unfortunate right now that science is being rejected by people going on Google, going on websites of dubious origin trying to find information.”
  • Dr. Kessler concluded, “We should all be concerned about that.”
• In response to a question from Rep. Suhas Subramanyam about whether we can fix the damage done by the Trump Administration to FDA, Dr. Kessler responded:  “We’ve lost 1,000 person-years of expertise in a few weeks.  I don’t think—I mean, if we let this go on for much longer—I mean, I think it’s a matter of weeks. …  This may not be fixable.  This may affect us for decades.”
• In response to Rep. Shontel Brown’s question about the consequences of RFK Jr.’s FDA staff cuts on the agency’s ability to oversee the safety of consumer products, Dr. Kessler warned, “I think it endangers the safety of all Americans.”  Dr. Kessler added:  “The inspectors now have to do all their administrative work themselves.  Their travel cards are restricted.  Laboratories can’t purchase the supplies that they need, so they are not being used efficiently.  They [FDA staff] can’t do their jobs. …  Why would you take the entire infrastructure of the FDA and blow it up?”  
• Rep. Melanie Stansbury asked Dr. Kessler to help Americans better understand the scope and scale of what is taking place at FDA and why people should care.  Dr. Kessler stated, “20 cents of every consumer dollar is spent on a product the FDA oversees. …  [most] of our foods, all of our drugs, cosmetics, our blood supply, our medical devices…many of our radiological devices… the agency is absolutely essential for the safety of the American family.”
• Rep. Maxwell Alejandro Frost noted that FDA had announced a food or drug recall roughly every 48 hours in the past month and emphasized the important role its labs and inspectors play in catching contamination before food hits grocery store shelves, as “folks managing a family budget know how grocery costs add up and what a waste it is to throw out food.”  Dr. Kessler replied, “The laboratories are absolutely essential at that detection.  Four FDA laboratories—two food labs, two medical products labs—have been shut.  Those recalls that are absolutely essential?  The people who communicate about those recalls—the communications shops—have been gutted.”
• Rep. Jasmine Crocket decried the dangers of RFK Jr.’s conspiracy theories, emphasizing:  “It has taken Texas’s largest measles outbreak in 30 years with more than 500 confirmed cases and the death of two children for the Secretary of Health and Human Services to say what we already know:  The most effective way to prevent the spread of measles is the MMR vaccine. ... The Republicans are implementing the most dangerous public health agenda in modern American history, and people are literally dying as a result.”  Dr. Kessler said:  “Congresswoman, you raised a very, very important point.  I’m the only pediatrician on this panel today. ... Please, the most important thing is what you said:  If you want to prevent measles, please have your children vaccinated against that very dangerous disease.”  
• “Today’s hearing comes at a critical moment for public health and safety.  All Americans should be able to trust that our government is working to ensure their food and medicine will be safe and affordable.  But over the past two months, the Trump Administration has purged thousands of FDA workers,” said Rep. Subramanyam.  He continued:  “They fired people responsible for regulating e-cigarettes and ensuring that predatory companies cannot market vapes to children.  They fired people responsible for monitoring drugs for side effects and updating warning labels.  They fired the scientists monitoring bird flu and taking steps to prevent it from killing people.  They fired the scientists with expertise in fighting heavy metals, toxins, and additives in our food supply and they fired the people who monitor prescription drug shortages and ensure that Americans have access to affordable prescription medications.  How is this making Americans healthier?”
• When Rep. Summer Lee asked, “What is the worst case scenario that could result from FDA’s planned cuts to drug inspections?”  Dr. Kessler said, “People will die. ...  Go back, 1938.  We forget. ...  There were deaths in children because adulterants ended up in those medicines because we didn’t have the inspection system.  We didn’t have the preapproval system.  We’ve developed the most sophisticated system, right?  So, when you take a medicine today, what it says on the label is actually what’s in the product.  That’s taken an enormous effort by the Congress over the last 100 years, working with dedicated scientists and public servants.”  
• In response to questions from Rep. Wesley Bell about the negative impact of the Trump Administration’s closure of FDA laboratories, Dr. Kessler said:  “That means more problematic products coming into the United States.  We need to have a robust laboratory system that can detect illicit and harmful products.”  Summing up the decimation of the FDA, Rep. Bell responded:  “The Trump Administration claims these cuts are to make America Healthy Again, but they will do the opposite.  President Trump and Secretary Kennedy are slashing critical FDA functions while Republicans in Congress aim to redirect taxpayer dollars into tax cuts for the wealthy.  The result?  Americans will wait longer for cheaper medications, and it will be harder to trust that our food and drugs are safe.  That’s the last thing working families need right now.”

Committee Democrats called out President Trump, DOGE, and RFK Jr. for firing thousands of FDA workers who help keep our medicine, food, and infant formula safer and more affordable, and warned that these threats to the health of American families are only going to get worse under their leadership.

Committee Democrats emphasized that the Trump Administration’s purges of FDA workers will threaten the safety of our drug supply.   

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