The U.S. Justice Department tells a federal appeals court that a lower court improperly blocked Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s handpicked appointees from serving on an influential vaccine advisory panel. At a hearing Tuesday before the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Justice Department attorney Matthew Zorn argues that the district court judge exceeded authority when issuing the block.
The case centers on the appeals court’s review of that earlier decision, with the government seeking to allow the appointees to move forward while the dispute continues. The outlets that reported on the hearing focus on the government’s position that the block is legally flawed, rather than on the merits of the underlying vaccine policy decisions. The reporting also indicates that the matter is procedurally focused—on what power the lower court had to halt appointments—rather than on the specific qualifications of the panel members.
