Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. defended his controversial record leading the nation’s health department, as Democrats argued his changes on vaccines threatened public health in America and pushed back against his proposed budget cuts.
On Thursday, Kennedy kicked off a marathon of seven congressional hearings where lawmakers grilled him for the first time in more than seven months. The hearings will continue through next week.
Kennedy’s health department has recently undergone a major leadership shake-up, and he’s leaned into his messaging around food and nutrition as GOP pollsters warn of the political risks of vaccine skepticism ahead of the midterms. But for hours on Thursday, lawmakers quizzed him on vaccines, fraud in federal government programs and the budget request for his department.
Kennedy highlighted efforts to phase out synthetic food dyes, overhaul dietary guidelines and strike deals with pharmaceutical companies. He said he planned to overhaul an influential task force focused on preventive screening recommendations. And he often appealed to his Make America Healthy Again base that doesn’t always fit within the Republican agenda, including saying he had “grave reservations” about a White House executive order boosting a commonly used weedkiller.
“Our children are the sickest generation in modern history — and decades of failed policy, captured agencies and profit-driven systems have caused it,” Kennedy said at Thursday morning’s hearing before the House Ways and Means Committee. “Parents across this country demanded change — and we are delivering it.”
Here are four takeaways from Thursday’s two hearings.
Kennedy stays largely on message — so far
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.
Kennedy largely stayed on message Thursday. He still got testy with Democrats, at one point accusing them of giving speeches for fundraising purposes instead of letting him answer questions.
Lawmakers confronted Kennedy about his past controversial statements. In a fiery exchange, Rep. Terri A. Sewell (D-Alabama) referred to comments he made on a 2024 online show suggesting Black children who are on medications such as Adderall and SSRIs should be “re-parented.” Kennedy said he’d like to hear the recording (the recording shows him saying such remarks).
Kennedy’s unique position as a Democratic political scion in a Republican administration came up during the hearings. Several Democrats made a point to praise Kennedy’s family legacy before criticizing him, leading Kennedy at one point to note “I’m a lifelong Democrat.” In the second hearing Thursday before a House appropriations subcommittee, Kennedy nodded to his work with Democrats on food dyes over the years, and was praised by Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Connecticut), the panel’s top Democrat who was otherwise highly critical, for his work on microplastics.
Democrats argued Kennedy is not doing enough to combat fraud, while Republicans praised his efforts. Republicans also widely lauded his efforts on nutrition.
“The greatest thing that your administration has done is bring highlighting to the fact that food is medicine,” said Rep. Greg Murphy (R-North Carolina), a physician.
The most anticipated showdown on the Hill is with Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana), the chairman of the Senate health committee who cast the deciding vote to make Kennedy health 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.
Democrats quiz Kennedy on vaccines
Some of the most heated moments came as Democrats quizzed Kennedy, the founder of a prominent anti-vaccine group, on immunizations. Kennedy moved to make sweeping changes to the childhood immunization schedule and reconstituted a federal vaccine advisory panel, actions blocked by a federal judge last month.
Rep. Linda T. Sánchez (D-California) said the country’s rising measles outbreaks horrify her, arguing Kennedy’s past anti-vaccine rhetoric has contributed to them. She asked whether he agreed with doctors that the measles vaccine could have saved the life of an unvaccinated child who died of measles complications in Texas.
“It’s possible, certainly,” Kennedy replied.
Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-Pennsylvania) pressed Kennedy on whether the MMR vaccine is safe and effective, which public health authorities say is the case.
“Yes,” Kennedy said. He paused: “It’s safe for most people.”
Dean said she was “deeply troubled” that vaccine rates are declining. The exchange became feisty as Kennedy accused Dean of not having the “courage” to let him reply to her questions and argued vaccination rates dropped after the coronavirus pandemic due to mismanagement and not because of his leadership.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention moved to eliminate a long-standing recommendation for all newborns to receive a hepatitis B vaccine shortly after birth, which public health experts have credited with dramatically reducing infections. The move is on hold by a federal judge.
Rep. Judy Chu (D-California) criticized the decision, telling a story of a friend and city council member in her district who died of liver cancer. Kennedy, who has repeatedly questioned why newborns should receive the shot, called hepatitis B a “terrible disease,” but said the vaccine has not been safety tested and parents should be allowed to question its risk profile. Health authorities say the shot is safe.
Kennedy nods to his MAHA movement
Kennedy often brought up priorities of the MAHA movement that he champions but has faced some rough patches in recent weeks.
For one, the confirmation of Casey Means, Trump’s surgeon general nominee who wrote the book widely considered the bible of the MAHA movement, has stalled.
Rep. Julia Letlow (R-Louisiana) is challenging Cassidy’s seat in the Senate this year, and has been endorsed by top MAHA advocates who have vowed to spend a million dollars in her race. Letlow started her questioning in the Thursday afternoon hearing by emphasizing her support for Means’s nomination, which MAHA activists blame Cassidy for blocking, and asking Kennedy why her nomination is essential.
“Casey Means is the most articulate, eloquent and erudite evangelist for the MAHA movement,” Kennedy said.
In February, key movement leaders were upset over the administration’s embrace of a widely used weedkiller, and the White House recently met with some to discuss the issue.
When questioned by Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wisconsin) Thursday afternoon, Kennedy acknowledged that he had “grave reservations” about the president’s executive order to boost production of glyphosate but understood why Trump did it for fear of threats to the food supply.
Across the hearings, members of Congress quizzed Kennedy on some of the Environmental Protection Agency’s moves that seemed to contradict with the MAHA movement, to which Kennedy said it was not his agency and to talk to Lee Zeldin, the head of the EPA.
DeLauro also attempted to pin Kennedy down on raw milk amid an outbreak of E. coli in raw cheddar cheese. Kennedy has previously voiced support for raw milk and pledged to end the Food and Drug Administration’s “aggressive suppression” of a list of products, including raw milk.
The FDA prohibits the sale of raw milk across state lines. But some states allow the sale of unpasteurized milk within their own borders. DeLauro strongly urged Kennedy to disavow raw milk — which the FDA and other public health agencies say is unsafe to drink. Kennedy responded that his department does not regulate the drink.
“Every product can contain contaminants,” Kennedy said. “What we do is we inform the public and we let people make a choice.”
Kennedy defends budget cuts
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. Kennedy defended the proposed cuts, although at one point he noted if given money, he would spend it. Lawmakers last year mostly snubbed the health department’s budget request.
“It’s easy to demonize OMB and Russ Vought,” Kennedy said, referring to Trump’s budget chief. “But Russ Vought is looking out for our country. We have a $39 trillion debt.”
In a notable exchange with Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Wisconsin), who pushed him on how the Trump administration could cut programs meant to help children’s nutrition, Kennedy said he wasn’t happy about the cuts.
“Nobody wants to make the cuts,” he said, but pointed to the nation’s debt as a necessary reason to do so.
In response to another Democratic lawmaker’s question on potential cuts, Kennedy said, “we now having to tighten our belt,” accusing Congress of racking up a large national debt.
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