El-Sayed wants to investigate health secretary over agency cuts and food safety

Michigan Senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed said Thursday he wants to investigate the U.S. health and human services secretary and examine decisions affecting food-safety work at the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In an interview with Kate Bolduan, El-Sayed linked a summer cyclosporiasis outbreak associated with lettuce to cuts at the two agencies. He argued for legislation to ensure the FDA functions and said he wanted to understand the decisions and how to solve the problem.

Asked whether he specifically wanted to investigate the health secretary, he replied: "I do." He added: "This is not about retribution for something past. This is about understanding what happened, holding people accountable for what they did, and then solving the problem moving forward."

Source: CNN News Central interview with Kate Bolduan, November 5, 2026; transcript published on CNN. CNN transcript · CNN video page