Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is set for a marathon of congressional hearings starting Thursday, where lawmakers will have the opportunity to grill him for the first time in over seven months.
Since then, Kennedy overhauled the childhood vaccine schedule to recommend fewer shots, a move which alarmed medical experts and has been blocked by a federal judge. His health department has undergone a major leadership shake-up. And Kennedy has leaned into his messaging around food and nutrition as GOP pollsters warn of the political risks of vaccine skepticism ahead of the midterms.
Kennedy, whose tenure has been controversial, will likely be quizzed on his department’s budget, turmoil at his agencies in his first year and vaccines during a seven-hearing blitz on Capitol Hill over the coming days, according to Hill aides.
Kennedy plans to highlight efforts to phase out synthetic food dyes, overhaul the dietary guidelines and strike deals with pharmaceutical companies.
“Our children are the sickest generation in modern history — and decades of failed policies, captured agencies, and profit-driven systems caused it,” Kennedy plans to say at Thursday morning’s hearing, according to prepared remarks. “Parents across this country demanded change — and we are delivering it.
Here are four things to watch for as Kennedy appears on the Hill.
Will he stay on message?
Kennedy is known for speaking off the cuff, sharing conspiracy theories and anti-vaccine claims. But in recent months, he has adopted administration talking points around affordability and nutrition as the upcoming midterm elections loom — and he’s stayed on message in podcasts and on a national “Take Back Your Health” tour.
Democratic lawmakers will be looking to exploit any perceived daylight between the secretary and the administration, and force him off message over hours of hearings. The party is also seeking to argue Kennedy has led a chaotic first year amid leadership turnover at the agencies he oversees, according to multiple Hill aides.
In past congressional hearings, Kennedy also has appeared confrontational with members of Congress, personally attacking senators and blaming them for America’s life expectancy crisis. White House officials have quickly highlighted made-for-TV moments on social media, and Democrats are preparing how to better handle his attacks that have centered on campaign funding and pharmaceutical influence, according to one Hill aide.
The most anticipated showdown is with Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana), the chairman of the Senate health committee who cast the deciding vote to make Kennedy secretary but has since clashed with him on vaccine issues. That hearing will be Wednesday, and comes as President Donald Trump has endorsed Cassidy’s primary opponent during this year’s reelection.
What will he say about vaccines?
A federal judge has blocked Kennedy’s sweeping changes to the childhood immunization schedule and his reconstitution of a federal vaccine advisory panel. A 13-page statement posted ahead of the Thursday afternoon hearing does not mention vaccines nor immunizations nor do prepared remarks for the morning hearing.
Yet Democrats and some Republicans are likely to grill Kennedy on his vaccine moves at a moment when the founder of a prominent anti-vaccine group has steered his public messaging away from immunizations.
Questions around vaccines have led to some of the most revealing and heated moments at congressional hearings last year. In September, Sen. John Barrasso (Wyoming), the No. 2 Republican, pressed Kennedy on vaccines, saying that, as a physician, he had “grown deeply concerned.”
After the Food and Drug Administration narrowed approval of the coronavirus shot, Cassidy accused Kennedy of “effectively” denying Americans the shot, citing confusion among patients and doctors.
“You’re wrong,” Kennedy shot back.
How does he placate his MAHA movement?
The Make America Healthy Again movement that Kennedy champions has faced some rough patches in recent weeks.
The confirmation of Casey Means, Trump’s surgeon general nominee who wrote the book widely considered the bible of the MAHA movement, has stalled. Key movement leaders were upset over the administration’s embrace of a widely used weedkiller.
The White House recently hosted top MAHA advocates for a listening session on pesticides and other issues important to the movement, featuring top policy advisers and a brief meeting with Trump. The MAHA advocates said they were happy the White House made a concerted effort to listen to them.
Republicans are expected to praise Kennedy’s push for whole milk and other changes to federal nutrition guidelines, but some have previously expressed concern over his push against pesticides.
How will Kennedy defend the health department’s budget?
Many of the congressional hearings are ostensibly to discuss the White House’s budget request for the health department, though lawmakers typically take the opportunity to quiz the secretary on myriad issues.
The White House’s fiscal 2027 budget somewhat mirrors the cuts that Trump proposed last year, as well as seeking to consolidate several agencies into the Administration for a Healthy America. But lawmakers last year mostly snubbed the asks.
Ahead of a Senate hearing next week, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), the chairwoman of the chamber’s Appropriations Committee, told reporters she opposes a $5 billion proposed cut to the National Institutes of Health.
According to Kennedy’s statement posted ahead of one of Thursday’s hearings, he said the budget is aimed at reducing duplication, improving accountability and maximizing limited resources.
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