Secretary of Well being and Human Companies Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testifies earlier than the Senate HELP Committee Wednesday. He confronted questions on vaccines, measles and cuts to biomedical analysis.
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Well being Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says that Elon Musk’s DOGE effort drew up the blueprint for spending cuts which can be reshaping the Division of Well being and Human Companies — and Kennedy and his crew carried out them. Kennedy additionally stated he pushed again on some cuts and has reinstated a number of applications reduce mistakenly.
Kennedy confronted hours of questioning Wednesday in two congressional committee hearings — one within the Home Appropriations Committee and one within the Senate HELP (Well being, Schooling, Labor and Pensions) Committee.
The official matter was President Trump’s funds for fiscal yr 2026, however many different points got here up together with the autism analysis Kennedy has launched, the measles outbreak in west Texas and the large overhaul of HHS, the place 20,000 workers have been fired or taken a buyout or early retirement.
On the whole, Kennedy stood behind the large sweeping modifications to his company — although he has backtracked barely on a case-by-case foundation. In any other case, he’s staying the course with Trump’s plans to chop billions extra from the HHS funds, which Kennedy acknowledged shall be “painful.”
Congressional authority mentioned
In an change with Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., the rating member on the Home Appropriations Committee, Kennedy stated, “You’ve gotten the ability of the purse,” referring to the Home of Representatives. DeLauro responded, “Thanks!” and went on to say that Kennedy and the Trump administration are illegally impounding funds appropriated by congress this yr. “You do not have the authority,” she stated.
Questions from Republicans on the panels had a gentler tone, however even the chair of the Senate HELP committee Sen. Invoice Cassidy, R.-La., urged Kennedy to work with congress extra.
“The Division must have an efficient plan to meet statutory duties in tandem with its efforts to extend transparency and accountability, streamline applications, and root out wasteful spending,” Cassidy, who can also be a doctor, stated in his opening assertion. “Congress and the administration ought to work collectively to make sure reforms strike the suitable steadiness and ship for the American individuals.”
Protestors interrupted the start of the Senate listening to yelling, “RFK kills individuals with AIDS.” They have been rapidly eliminated by cops and the listening to continued.
Fuzzy particulars
The feedback about Musk got here in an change with Rep. Steny Hoyer, D.-Md., within the Home listening to. “Who made these selections? You or Musk?” Hoyer requested. Kennedy stated that he labored with Musk’s crew however had a capability to override issues. He talked about stopping the Head Begin early schooling program from being reduce, for instance.
At occasions, Kennedy appeared fuzzy on the specifics of what really was reduce as lawmakers requested him about particulars like delays in funds to neighborhood teams and issues with scientific trials. He stated he would look into issues and get again to lawmakers individually.
Senator Andy Kim, D-N.J., introduced up the World Commerce Heart well being program, the place workers have been reinstated. “However why have been they reduce within the first place?” Kim requested.
Kennedy stated the time it will have taken to stop errors like this might have allowed inertia to set in and the company would have remained too massive and unable to assist the American inhabitants to get more healthy, which he says is his massive aim.
Vaccines and an alligator metaphor
Vaccines got here up most pointedly when Sen. Chris Murphy, D.-Conn., questioned Kennedy. Murphy stated Kennedy was undermining public belief in vaccines, by not strongly saying they’re secure. Kennedy responded: “Senator, if I counsel you to swim in a lake that I do know there to be alligators in, would not you need me to let you know there have been alligators in it?”
The Senate HELP Committee listening to was marked by testy exchanges at occasions.
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Cassidy, the physician who chairs the Senate HELP committee, returned to the listening to room to right Kennedy. “The Secretary made the assertion that no vaccines apart from COVID have been evaluated in opposition to placebo. For the document, that is not true. The rotavirus, measles, and HPV vaccines have been, and a few vaccines are examined in opposition to earlier variations. So only for the document, to set that straight.”
In an earlier change with Rep. Mark Pocan, D.-Wisc., within the Home listening to, Kennedy stated he would “in all probability” vaccinate a small baby in opposition to measles if he was the father or mother of a small baby as we speak. He did not reply about polio or hen pox vaccines. He added, “I do not suppose individuals must be taking medical recommendation from me.”
Kennedy additionally confronted some questioning from Republicans in Oklahoma and Maine who have been involved about cuts to biomedical analysis of their districts.
DeLauro ended the Home listening to noting that Republican members of congress have been in a position to work with Kennedy’s HHS to reinstate staffing of some applications required by legislation whereas Democrats’ letters and different communications haven’t gotten responses. “Who do Democrats need to name?” she stated, earlier than pointedly asking for reinstatement of a program for lead poisoning.
