WASHINGTON — Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. faced tough questions in Congress on Wednesday over his vaccine statements, agency layoffs, and response to a worsening U.S. measles outbreak.
False Vaccine Claims Under Fire
In his first congressional appearance since confirmation, Kennedy was corrected by Senator Bill Cassidy after falsely claiming only COVID-19 vaccines had placebo-controlled trials.
“That’s not true,” Cassidy clarified, citing trials for measles and HPV vaccines. Senator Chris Murphy also accused Kennedy of breaking promises made during his confirmation, highlighting Kennedy’s new “radical” vaccine approval standards and misleading comments about measles vaccine safety.
Audience members displayed stickers reading, “When Bobby lies, children die,” as Kennedy defended his controversial positions, insisting, “I’m not going to just tell people everything is safe and effective if I know there’s issues.”
Protests and Public Health Concerns
Protesters, including Ben Cohen of Ben & Jerry’s, interrupted the hearing, criticizing Kennedy’s stances on vaccines and Medicaid cuts. The ongoing measles outbreak has infected over 1,000 people, mostly unvaccinated, with three reported deaths.
Agency Cuts and Budget Proposals
Kennedy defended his proposed layoffs at the FDA, CDC, and NIH, arguing the 10,000 job cuts would restore pre-pandemic staffing levels and save taxpayers $1.8 billion annually. Critics warned of crippling the public health infrastructure.
He denied that Elon Musk dictated the cuts, saying Musk only advised on fraud investigations but the decisions were Kennedy’s alone.
Drug Pricing and Legislative Battles
Responding to Senator Bernie Sanders, Kennedy expressed willingness to collaborate on lowering prescription drug prices. This follows President Trump’s executive order pushing drugmakers to match international pricing, a move experts say faces legal challenges.
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