Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. faced aggressive grilling from House Democrats for his stewardship of the nation’s lead health agency - and faced criticism for his previous autism statements and hanging out with Kid Rock.
Kennedy testified before the House of Representative’s Ways and Means Committee Thursday, which sets tax policy, and the House Appropriations Committee, which writes the 12 spending bills that make up the budget, about the president’s proposed budget.
During the hearing, Republicans focused primarily on Kennedy and President Donald Trump’s “Make America Healthy Again” agenda, which focuses on oversight of chemicals and pushes healthy eating and exercise. Democrats focused on the department’s slashing money for on cancer research, promoting misinformation about vaccines.
A longtime promoter of the idea that vaccines cause autism, Kennedy has overseen the changing of the nation’s vaccine schedule, which a federal judge temporarily blocked, and used his perch to promote ideas that the use of acetaminophen, commonly known as Tylenol, causes autism spectrum disorder.
“Not surprisingly, we were right to be skeptical of your promise to support the childhood vaccine schedule, because at your direction, the [Centers for Disease Control] removed its universal vaccine recommendations for children, covering seven immunizations, including things like flu, covid, hepatitis A, hepatitis B and rotavirus,” Rep. Linda Sánchez (D-Calif.) said.
That policy change came as measles spiked in the United States under Kennedy’s stewardship.
“We have done better at preventing measles than any country in the world,” Kennedy said. When Sanchez pressed Kennedy that the measles vaccine could have saved a child’s life in Texas, the secretary responded, “It's possible. Certainly.”
Sánchez also criticized the fact that the CDC ended pro-vaccine messaging ,while at the same time promoting videos of Kennedy “hanging out shirtless in a hot tub with Kid Rock.” In February, RFK released a video of him spending time with Kid Rock and participating in many “MAHA” encouraged activities, such as drinking whole milk.
“Somehow you think that's a better public health message than informing the public about the benefits of vaccines. Really?” she asked.
In a particularly fiery moment, Rep. Terri Sewell (D-Ala.) criticized Kennedy for previously saying that Black children who are medicated for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder should be “re-parented.”
“I don't even know what that phrase means,” he said during a heated exchange. “I’m not going to answer something that I didn't say.”
This came despite the fact that Kennedy made the remarks on the 19Keys internet show in 2024.
“Every Black kid is now, just standard put on Adderall, SSRIs, benzos, which are known to induce violence,” he said. “And those kids are going to have a chance to go somewhere and get re-parented, to live in a community, where will be no cell phones, no screens, you’ll actually have to talk to people.”
There is little evidence that all Black children are given psychiatric medication and many Black people are not diagnosed with ADHD until later in life. Sewell denounced Kennedy’s terms, specifically in how they relate to separating Black children from their families.
“For you to suggest that black families are not capable of raising their own children is deeply offensive,” Sewell told Kennedy. “Sir, you are the Secretary of Health and Human Services for the world's most powerful country, and your words matter.”
But Kennedy did not just receive criticism from Democrats. Rep. Blake Moore (R-Utah), the father of an autistic son, said that he appreciated Kennedy’s focus on autism, but expressed alarm about his and Trump’s comments about acetaminophen’s alleged link to autism. Studies have shown that the use of acetaminophen by pregnant women has no link to autism.
“We don't even know she took Tylenol during her pregnancy, but that was a hurtful moment for her, and I just want to encourage the administration and your team to keep at it,” Moore said. “And I think there's, there's more we can do here.”
Kennedy has promoted the idea that the United States has an “autism epidemic,” even though the CDC’s own research shows that the increase in the last three decades came thanks to improved screening and an expanded diagnostic criteria.
Next week, Kennedy is set to testify on the Senate side, where he will come face to face with Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), a who staked much of his credibility as a gastroentrologist to confirm Kennedy only for President Donald Trump to endorse the senator’s primary challenger Rep. Julia Letlow.
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