Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. sparred with Democrats throughout a House budget hearing Thursday, with members accusing Kennedy of lying about changes to vaccine oversight, and Kennedy accusing lawmakers of being influenced by campaign contributions from Big Pharma.<\/p>\n
Kennedy appeared before the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health to discuss the Trump administration’s budget request for fiscal 2026. But much of the hearing saw Democrats question Kennedy about his tenure so far as HHS secretary, with several blasting his actions in office.<\/p>\n
Kennedy struck a combative tone throughout the hearing, denying that he made any false promises during his confirmation process, defending changes to his agency’s funding and structure, and seeking to turn the tables on claims of conflict of interest. <\/p>\n
Here were five key exchanges from Tuesday’s hearing:<\/p>\n
Kennedy bristled when Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.), ranking member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, questioned his claims of “radical transparency” at his agency and ripped his changes to vaccine oversight.<\/p>\n
Pallone specifically cited the HHS’s lack of response to congressional inquiries as well as the recent firing of the entire Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) as instances where Kennedy failed to practice transparency.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are you afraid of?\u201d Pallone asked Kennedy. “I mean, with regard to vaccines, are you just afraid of receiving public comments on proposals where you just think these are fringe views that are contrary to the views of most scientists?\u201d<\/p>\n
Kennedy, who has in previous hearings taken issue with not having enough time to answer, used his time answering Rep. Neal Dunn’s (R-Fla.) question to address Pallone.<\/p>\n
“Congressman Pallone, 15 years ago, you and I met. You were, at that time, a champion of people who had suffered injuries from vaccines. You were very adamant about it. You were the leading member of Congress on that issue,\u201d Kennedy said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSince then, you\u2019ve accepted $2 million from pharmaceutical companies in contributions, more than any other member of this committee,\u201d he continued. \u201cAnd your enthusiasm for supporting the old [Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices], which was completely rife and pervasive with pharmaceutical conflicts, seems to be an outcome of those contributions.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kennedy was likely referring to Pallone having previously raised concerns in the ’90s about the presence of mercury in products approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).<\/p>\n
Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.), ranking member of the health subcommittee, immediately raised a point of order, saying Kennedy was \u201cimpugning Mr. Pallone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Subcommittee Chair Buddy Carter (R-Ga.) asked that the clock be paused. After a brief back-and-forth with committee members and staffers, he acknowledged it was a valid point of order and asked Kennedy to retract his remarks about Pallone.<\/p>\n
Kennedy retracted his words.<\/p>\n
Rep. Kim Schrier (D-Wash.) accused Kennedy of lying to Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), who was the deciding vote in advancing Kennedy’s nomination out of the Senate’s Health Committee, which Cassidy chairs.<\/p>\n
Cassidy made it known that he was on the fence about confirming Kennedy even after two confirmation hearings. He was ultimately convinced by commitments<\/a> he received from Kennedy, including that he would “maintain the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention\u2019s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices without changes.”<\/p>\n According to Cassidy, Kennedy had also requested his input on hiring decisions at the HHS.<\/p>\n But earlier this month, Kennedy fired all 17 expert members of ACIP and replaced them with eight members about whom Cassidy has expressed skepticism. The Louisiana senator called for an upcoming ACIP meeting to be delayed<\/a>, noting how some new members “lack experience studying new technologies such as mRNA vaccines, and may even have a preconceived bias against them.”<\/p>\n \u201cI just want to tell you that for most of us sitting here right now, we believe Sen. Cassidy more than we trust you when it comes to vaccinations. It sounds to me like you gave him the answer he needed to hear in order to get his confirmation vote, and then as soon as you were secretary, you turned around and did whatever you want. You fired all 17 members,\u201d Schrier said to Kennedy. <\/p>\n \u201cYou lied to Sen. Cassidy.\u201d<\/p>\n Kennedy denied ever making any such agreement and said he had not broken any promises to Cassidy. A spokesperson for the senator said Tuesday, “As Senator Cassidy has said publicly, the commitment was about the ACIP process, not staffing.”<\/p>\n Kennedy appeared to be unaware of the “defend the spend” initiative being carried out by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which has seen grants at agencies including HHS paused pending manual review.<\/p>\n‘Defend the spend’ initiative<\/h2>\n