Secretary of the Department of Health Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appointed two new physicians to the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP)—Sean G. Downing, a primary care physician from Florida, and Angelina Farella, a pediatrician from Texas.[1][2] These new members were appointed ahead of the March meeting of the committee, originally scheduled for February[1]. In June 2025, Kennedy fired all 17 original ACIP members and replaced them with his own nominees in order to "restore public confidence in vaccines"[3][7]. Downing is described as a physician with more than twenty years of experience in primary care who also worked with the indigent population[2]. In 2021, Farella publicly spoke out against vaccination against COVID-19 and suggested treatment with steroids and vitamins[1]. The ACIP committee provides recommendations to CDC and the Department of Health regarding the use of vaccines to control disease in the civilian population of the United States[2]. These committee changes are the subject of a legal challenge initiated by the American Academy of Pediatrics, which claims the practice violates the law[3].