NPR
RFK Jr. is on a congressional hearing blitz, after a long absence from Capitol Hill
+966 words added -695 words removed
− Selena Simmons-Duffin
Health Secretary Robert F.
+ By
Selena Simmons-Duffin
,
Carmel Wroth
Health Secretary Robert F.
− Jacquelyn Martin/AP hide caption
When Health Secretary Robert F.
+ Jose Luis Magana/AP hide caption
In the first of two appearances on Capitol Hill Wednesday, Health Secretary Robert F.
− made dramatic, sudden changes to the childhood vaccine schedule without input from outside advisers, he did not appear before lawmakers to answer questions.
When the U.S.
+ faced vigorous questioning from senators at a hearing of the U.S.
− capped off 2025 with more measles cases than the country has had in three decades, he did not come to Capitol Hill to answer lawmakers' questions.
+ Senate Finance Committee.
− He also didn't come to explain the unprecedented decision to withhold $250 million in Medicaid funds from Minnesota, a blue state that has been a frequent target of the Trump administration.
While the party in power is not required to call hearings, Kennedy has made consequential, norm-shattering changes to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that beckon congressional oversight.
Finally, in the past week, lawmakers have had many hours to question Kennedy through seven hearings in various congressional committees and subcommittees.
+ While Republicans on the committee praised Kennedy for his agency's investments in rural health and nutrition, exchanges with Democratic senators frequently became rancorous.
− The topic for all is ostensibly the department's budget request for 2027, but in the five hearings so far, questions have ranged from rural health to the new nominee to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to hospital drug-pricing policy.
+ Democrats pushed Kennedy to commit to making Trump administration deals with pharmaceutical companies public, grilled him on the measles and other vaccines, and asked him to account for the costs of recent promotional videos from his office, among other topics.
− defends his health agenda and Trump's proposed budget cuts in hearing On Wednesday, Kennedy finishes up his blitz of hearings at two consequential Senate committees: Finance and HELP, which stands for Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.
+ defends his health agenda and Trump's proposed budget cuts in hearing This is the sixth time in the past week that Kennedy has testified before various Congressional committees to discuss his leadership of the Department of Health and Human Services and his agency's budget request for 2027. He'll testify Wednesday afternoon before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, or HELP.
− A key member of both of those committees is Sen.
+ Kennedy hadn't testified on the Hill since September.
− Bill Cassidy, R.-La.
+ Senators appeared to have stored up numerous comments and questions about many of Kennedy's actions in his more than a year leading the agency.
Kennedy made dramatic, sudden changes to the childhood vaccine schedule without input from outside advisors and did not appear before lawmakers to answer questions until now.
− In February of last year, Cassidy cast the tie-breaking committee vote to recommend Kennedy for the position of health secretary.
+ He also hasn't testified about measles outbreaks — in 2025 the U.S.
− Cassidy is a physician who supports vaccines, and Kennedy has a long history of anti-vaccine activism.
+ recorded more measles cases than the country has had in three decades.
− Just before the vote, Cassidy explained his decision on the Senate floor, saying: "Mr.
+ Looming over Kennedy's appearances is his standing with President Trump.
− Kennedy and the [Trump] administration committed that he and I would have an unprecedentedly close, collaborative working relationship." He said he had secured a commitment that the two of them would speak multiple times per month, that they'd collaborate on hiring decisions at HHS and that Kennedy would work within the existing vaccine policy systems.
+ Kennedy and his priorities were not mentioned in the State of the Union address this year, in contrast to many mentions in his previous year's address to Congress.
− "Aside from he and I meeting regularly, he'll come before the HELP Committee on a quarterly basis if requested."
Health Is RFK Jr.'s Administration for a Healthy America — AHA — in the works or not?
+ And Trump has fired three members of his cabinet in the last seven weeks: Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Attorney General Pam Bondi, and Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer.
Asked Tuesday in the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee whether the Trump administration had told him to say less publicly about vaccines, Kennedy said no.
− Very little of that has come to pass.
+ He also said he was unaware of polling by a Republican firm suggesting his position on vaccines is unpopular and politically hazardous for the party heading into the midterm elections.
Health Is RFK Jr.'s Administration for a Healthy America — AHA — in the works or not?
− Kennedy has not come in regularly to testify before the HELP Committee, despite demands from Democratic lawmakers.
+ Nonetheless, when, Sen.
− He has also made dramatic changes to federal vaccine policies that Cassidy has condemned.
+ Michael Bennet, a Democrat from Colorado, pushed Kennedy in the Senate Finance Committee hearing to take a stance on the measles vaccine, Kennedy gave a full-throated defense of the shots. Prior to his role in the Trump administration, Kennedy built his fame and fortune on anti-vaccine activism.
− The two men's conflicts have spilled into the public.
+ Bennet asked, "Are you taking the position as your CDC director has taken, that the measles vaccine is vital to keeping American children healthy in this country?"
Kennedy replied: "We promote the measles vaccine."
He went on to say that the measles vaccine prevents measles in 97% of the people who take it: "I've always said that.
− Kennedy's allies at the Make America Healthy Again PAC have endorsed a challenger to Cassidy in his Republican primary in Louisiana.
+ That's what the science says."
Secretary Kennedy had numerous tense exchanges with Democratic Senators during Wednesday's hearing.
− On a CDC webpage with a subheading that reads "Vaccines do not cause Autism," a footnote explains that the phrase "has not been removed due to an agreement with [Cassidy] that it would remain on the CDC website." The content on the page reflects Kennedy's decades-long insistence that there is a possible link between vaccines and autism, a claim that has been debunked by extensive research and leading health organizations.
+ Jose Luis Magana/AP hide caption
Several senators asked about TrumpRx, the administration's new drug discount site. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts, wanted to know why some of the drugs there cost more than prices available elsewhere.
− Kennedy on Tuesday on Capitol Hill.
+ Noting that Protonix, a heartburn medication, costs $200 on TrumpRx, she asked Kennedy, "Do you know what the drug costs at Costco?"
"I do not," he replied.
She revealed it's $16 at Costco.
− Jacquelyn Martin/AP hide caption
In the hearings so far, Republicans have been generally friendly to Kennedy, while Democrats have hammered him on vaccine skepticism, maternal health and Affordable Care Act premium costs.
+ After a back and forth on other drugs that cost less at Costco than TrumpRx, Kennedy said the TrumpRx prices were for brand-name drugs, not generics.
− Looming over Kennedy's appearances is his standing with President Trump.
+ "You're comparing apples to oranges because you're comparing the brand drug to the generic drug.
− Kennedy and his priorities were not mentioned in the State of the Union address this year, in contrast to many mentions in Trump's previous year's address to Congress.
+ We will be directing [people] to the generic."
Warren did not appear to be appeased.
− And Trump has fired three members of his Cabinet in the last seven weeks: Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Attorney General Pam Bondi and Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer.
+ "If you're buying a drug on TrumpRx, there is a more than one in four chance that Trump's discount is actually a price hike," she said, arguing that it steers patients to more expensive drugs "that are going to pad Big Pharma's profits."
Health Here are 5 health topics Trump avoided in his SOTU speech A key member on the committee is Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Republican from Louisiana. In February of last year, Cassidy cast the tie-breaking committee vote to recommend Kennedy for the position of health secretary. Cassidy is a physician who has spoken emotionally about his support for vaccines, and expressed concerns about Kennedy's history of anti-vaccine activism.
− Health Here are 5 health topics Trump avoided in his SOTU speech Asked Tuesday in the House Energy and Commerce Committee's Health Subcommittee whether the Trump administration had told him to say less publicly about vaccines, Kennedy said no.
+ When Kennedy went back on his commitments to Cassidy by making dramatic changes to federal vaccine policies, Cassidy condemned the moves earlier this year.
But on Wednesday, in his first chance to publicly question Kennedy about these changes, Cassidy dodged, using his five minutes to ask about health savings accounts and Medicare advantage.
"Affordable health care – my gosh, when I'm on the campaign trail, for example, or just speaking to folks back home, it's all about that," Cassidy said.
Cassidy is facing a tough Republican primary in Louisiana to keep his senate seat, and Kennedy's allies at the Make America Healthy Again PAC have endorsed a challenger.
Senator Maggie Hassan, D-New Hampshire, asked Kennedy about what she termed "vanity projects," a series of promotional videos from HHS, including one of Kennedy with the musician Kid Rock drinking milk in a hot tub, and others of Kennedy shirtless as a WWE fighter and as a video game hero.
"I have noticed that while HHS has done relatively little promotion of the life-saving measles vaccine […] you have been doing a lot of your own self promotion using official government channels and resources," she said.
She asked if the President had authorized him to use HHS resources for these.
− He also said he was unaware of polling by a Republican firm suggesting his position on vaccines is unpopular and politically hazardous for the party heading into the midterm elections.
+ "I've never discussed it with the President," he said.