Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made a rebellious defense against a dramatic overhaul of federal health agencies on Wednesday as House Democrats accused House Democrats of violating the law by cutting funds allocated by the Medical Research Congress.
“We're not withholding money for life-saving research!” Kennedy thundered with Connecticut's Rosa Delauro, a top Democrat on the House Approximately Published Committee, speaking to him on the constitution and the power of the Congressional wallet.
Delauro was tired of it. “Incredible,” she said, shaking her head. “Incredible.”
His trip to and from Delauro was just one of a series of fiery exchanges between Democrats and Kennedy, among his first appearances on Capitol Hill since becoming Health Secretary.
The purpose of Wednesday's hearing was for Kennedy to answer questions about President Trump's health budget for the upcoming fiscal year. But Democrats instead focused on mass layoffs, cutting down the cuts Kennedy has already made, and they denounced them as part of what Trump called the “science war.”
Trump has only published a broad overview of his budget plan, calling for deep cuts to the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In his opening remarks to a House committee, Kennedy said that a copy of his statement would save money “without affecting important services.”
The budget blueprint states, “We recognize the financial challenges our country is facing today, and the need to update and redirect investments to meet the rapidly changing needs of the world.”
However, the health department remake is already on track, with some being designed by Elon Musk and his team of government efficiency. This includes cutting jobs of 20,000. This is a quarter of the medical workforce. It also disintegrates the entire institution, including institutions dedicated to mental health and addiction treatment and emergency preparation, falling into a new, unclear “management of a healthy America.”
House Republicans praised Kennedy for a large part, but their questions made it clear they were also somewhat uncomfortable with his change. Some asked about their district projects. Chuck Freishman, the Tennessee Republican who represents candy makers, was voicingly worried that Kennedy's plan to remove certain oil-based dye food supplies would cost his constituents.
Rep. Stephanie Beath, a Republican of Oklahoma, urged Kennedy to protect the Medical Research Foundation in her district. Riley Moore, a Republican in West Virginia, has expressed relief that Kennedy overturned the firing of more than 100 employees at the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, helping protect coal miners from black lung disease.
Democrats studded the Health Secretary with questions about many other issues, including handling of the measles epidemic that killed two children in West Texas, his views on abortion, his recovery from heroin addiction, and whether he would vaccinate his own children against measles, chicken po and polio.
Kennedy declined to question, claiming that his own opinion was not an issue.
The health secretary will also appear before the Senate Health Committee Wednesday afternoon. The Republican chairman of the Senate Health Committee calls on Americans to explain how his reforms “make their lives easier and less difficult.”
Sen. Bill Cassidy, Louisiana Republican and chairman of the Health Committee, is expected to call on Kennedy to clarify “a well-defined plan or objective,” according to an excerpt from his prepared remarks. Cassidy voted to confirm Kennedy despite intense anxiety about his views on the vaccine.
Cassidy asked Kennedy to testify about cutting jobs at the Health Department last month, but the secretary didn't show up.
“Many of the conversations on the HHS agenda are set up by anonymous sources in the media and individuals with bias against the president,” says Cassidy. “Americans need a direct sense of security from the administration. From your secretary, they need that reforms to make their lives easier and not difficult.”
It could be a tall order. A recent poll by KFF, a nonpartisan health policy research institute, found that the majority of its citizens opposed staffing and massive cuts in spending at the country's health agencies. The majority of Americans said the Trump administration is “recklessly cutting back on the widespread cuts of programs and staff.”
In anticipation of the hearing, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, a ranking member of the Health Committee, released a report Tuesday that he accused Trump of “unprecedented illegal and outrageous attacks on science and scientists.” For example, Trump found that in the first three months of this year, Trump cut cancer research by 31% compared to the same time slot last year.
“Trump's science war is an attack on anyone who has loved someone with cancer,” Sanders said in a statement. “The American people don't want to cut cancer research to reduce more tax cuts for billionaires.”
Kennedy, one of the country's most vocal vaccine skeptics, claimed on Wednesday morning that he managed the current outbreak of measles better than his counterparts in other countries. The outbreak, which began in western Texas, killed two unvaccinated children and one adult, and made more than 1,000 people sick in 30 states, according to the CDC.
Kennedy has only provided slippery approvals for vaccinations. He acknowledges that vaccines are an effective way to prevent the spread of measles. However, he argues that the choice to receive vaccinations should be voluntary.
He instead promoted treatment of post-infectious diseases with alternative therapies that included cod liver oil, which contained vitamin A. Delauro accused him of “promoting Quackery.”
During the House hearing, Kennedy gave no quarter, exchanged barbs with lawmakers, asking for money for those coming to Congress to run his agency in a way unusual for witnesses.
“I don't know if I understand this or if I'm talking about the points of the Democrats,” Kennedy told California Democrat Josh Harder, who asked about the cuts to Medicaid.
Kennedy collided with New Jersey Democrat Bonnie Watson Coleman, asking about cutting down on the home's heating program. “My time has expired,” he said sharply after cutting off his answer.
And Watson Coleman shot back. “And so does your legitimacy.”
But the most passionate Democrat was Delauro, who survived ovarian cancer almost 40 years ago and had served in Congress for 34 years. She grew emotionally after the hearing. She spoke about how research funded by the National Institutes of Health is most likely to have saved her life.
“I'm here,” Delauro said, fighting back tears, “for God's grace and biomedical research.”
