Former Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele on MSNBC on August 29, 2025

Former Republican National Committee leader Michael Steele lambasted an MSNBC host for asking if Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) — who is a physician — has enough independence from President Donald Trump to act critically to save the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Of course he doesn’t, Steele said.

“There's not a Republican in the U.S. Senate who has done anything in the last 10 years that would lead us to believe that in a moment like this they're going to stand up and say to the American people, ‘we side with you,’” said Steele. “Why are we pretending that Bill Cassidy is going to do something different than any other action he's taken up until now? He voted for RFK. Jr. — in the face of RFK Jr.’s family, saying, ‘please do not put this crazy man in this job,’ and he voted for him.”

READ MORE: 'I'm done': How a 'very hardcore' teenage Trumper fell out of love with MAGA

Cassidy had recently spoken against the removal and subsequent resignation of several CDC senior officials after a battle with Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over the administration’s vaccine policies.

The White House announced Wednesday that Monarez had been terminated because she is “not aligned with the president’s agenda of Making America Healthy Again,” which critics say means the administration’s anti-vaccine stance.

But Steele said Cassidy, despite being a medical doctor, will likely do nothing beyond complain.

“C’mon. Why do we play this game?” Steele said. “Are we expecting this man to do something that there is no evidence he's prepared to do because he doesn't want the wrath of Donald Trump on his head. He doesn't want to be outside of the MAGA-verse.”

READ MORE: 'Frail and stupid and weak': Dem strategist says Trump and GOP are vulnerable

“His Senate seat is valued less than his support for Donald Trump,” Steele added. “The people in his state — their health and their concern — is of less value to him, as it is for every senator who voted for who voted for RFK. Jr.”

“If all of that is true … what's the average American to do whose lives or their ability to have a good life depends on a functioning CDC and FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration)?” asked MSNBC host Andrea Mitchell.

“Buckle up, baby, you're gonna be sick,” Steele answered.

Watch the video below or at this link.

- YouTube youtu.be