Democrats and Republicans have pushed US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr on his recent vaccine policies in a combative three-hour Senate hearing.

During pointed questioning, senators queried the policy’s stark contrast to President Donald Trump’s successful first-term pandemic initiative to speed vaccine development.

Half-a-dozen heated exchanges also focused on the details of his decision to fire Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Dr Susan Monarez (PhD), who had started the job with Mr Kennedy’s support only a month earlier. 

Mr Kennedy said she was dishonest about the reason she was dismissed.