Sen. Kennedy blasts acting DHS chief on coronavirus preparedness

"You're supposed to keep us safe. And you need to know the answers to these questions," Kennedy said while grilling Wolf on Tuesday.

"How far away are we from getting a vaccine?" Kennedy asked. "Several months," replied Wolf. "Well that's not what we just heard testimony about," Kennedy said.

Separately, U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar told a Senate subcommittee there will likely be more cases in the United States, and he asked lawmakers to approve $2.5 billion in funding to fight the outbreak after proposing cuts to the department's budget.