Bennet, Warnock, Colleagues Demand Secretary Kennedy Allow CDC Experts to Do Their Jobs Amid Global Health Emergencies

 Pursuant to Senate Policy, petitions, opinion polls, and unsolicited mass electronic communications cannot be initiated by this office for the 60-day period immediately before the date of a primary or general election. Subscribers currently receiving electronic communications from this office who wish to unsubscribe may do so here . M About About Michael Legislation News Press Releases Social Media Newsletter Archive Services Priorities Top Issues Child Tax Credit Investing in Colorado Contact Map Español Acerca de Michael Escribe a Michael Prioridades Servicios Visitando D.C. Bennet, Warnock, Colleagues Demand Secretary Kennedy Allow CDC Experts to Do Their Jobs Amid Global Health Emergencies The CDC’s lack of communications response to the hantavirus and other infectious disease outbreaks has drawn criticism from public health experts; Reports allege that Trump Administration political appointees have been suppressing communications by career CDC professionals. Denver — Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet joined U.S. Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) and seven colleagues to demand […] May 26, 2026 | Press Releases The CDC’s lack of communications response to the hantavirus and other infectious disease outbreaks has drawn criticism from public health experts; Reports allege that Trump Administration political appointees have been suppressing communications by career CDC professionals. Denver — Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet joined U.S. Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) and seven colleagues to demand that Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. allow expert scientists and physicians at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to speak freely, candidly, and “without political interference” about the hantavirus threat to the public. “Let us be clear: we have complete confidence in the career experts at CDC who are, and have been, working to respond to this potential threat,” wrote the senators. “What concerns us is the Administration’s potential hamstringing of those experts’ ability to convey scientifically backed information to the public.” “The absence of a trusted voice allows conspiracy theorists and misinformation to fester, creating more panic,” continued the senators. “Getting factual, real-time information gives the American people confidence in the U.S.’s ability to keep them safe.” Criticism of the CDC’s lack of public response has been growing since news agencies first reported that six Americans and 30 passengers had been sickened with hantavirus aboard a cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean. The first death from the current outbreak occurred on April 11, 2026, with the second death occurring just two weeks later on April 26. The CDC did not issue an alert until May 8, nearly a month after the first reported death, roughly two weeks after the second death, and six days after the World Health Organization (WHO) issued its first notice about the potential outbreak on May 2. At the same time, it is important for the public health experts to be able to share timely and factual information with the public – especially since last week Colorado saw its first death from hantavirus since 2024 , according to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. The lawmakers’ letter comes on the heels of another global health emergency in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda. As of May 25, the CDC has deemed the overall risk to the American public and travelers low. According to numbers shared to Congress by HHS in April 2026, CDC has lost over 26 percent of its staff, or 3,369 employees, since January 2025, which raises questions whether the beleaguered agency and HHS can effectively fulfill its role of leading preparedness and response efforts to a larger outbreak or epidemic. Bennet has constantly fought against Kennedy’s anti-health and anti-science agenda. In April 2026, Bennet questioned Kennedy during a Senate Finance Committee hearing on Kennedy’s long-standing skepticism of childhood vaccines amidst the largest measles outbreak in over thirty years. In March 2025, Bennet joined 12 of his Senate colleagues in sending a letter to Kennedy to demand HHS reverse changes to the CDC and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) websites that promote false and dangerous information about autism. In September 2025, he questioned Kennedy during a Senate Finance Committee hearing on his actions undermining vaccine safety and access for American families. Bennet also joined members of the Senate Finance Committee in issuing a statement calling on Kennedy to resign due to the danger he poses to America’s health, his lies to Congress, and his spread of disinformation. In addition to Bennet and Warnock, U.S. Senators Angela D. Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Ben Ray Lujan (D-N.M.), Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) signed the letter. The text of the letter is