Rfk Jr. Grilled By Congress Over Dismantling Public Health Policy And Hanging Out With Kid Rock

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. faced fierce grilling from House Democrats for his stewardship of nan nation’s lead wellness agency - and faced disapproval for his erstwhile autism statements and hanging retired pinch Kid Rock.

Kennedy testified earlier nan House of Representative’s Ways and Means Committee Thursday, which sets taxation policy, and nan House Appropriations Committee, which writes nan 12 spending bills that dress up nan budget, astir nan president’s projected budget.

During nan hearing, Republicans focused chiefly connected Kennedy and President Donald Trump’s “Make America Healthy Again” agenda, which focuses connected oversight of chemicals and pushes patient eating and exercise. Democrats focused connected nan department’s slashing money for connected crab research, promoting misinformation astir vaccines.

A longtime promoter of nan thought that vaccines origin autism, Kennedy has overseen nan changing of nan nation’s vaccine schedule, which a national judge temporarily blocked, and utilized his perch to beforehand ideas that nan usage of acetaminophen, commonly known arsenic Tylenol, causes autism spectrum disorder.

“Not surprisingly, we were correct to beryllium skeptical of your committedness to support nan puerility vaccine schedule, because astatine your direction, nan [Centers for Disease Control] removed its cosmopolitan vaccine recommendations for children, covering 7 immunizations, including things for illustration flu, covid, hepatitis A, hepatitis B and rotavirus,” Rep. Linda Sánchez (D-Calif.) said.

That argumentation alteration came arsenic bales spiked successful nan United States nether Kennedy’s stewardship.

“We person done amended astatine preventing bales than immoderate state successful nan world,” Kennedy said. When Sanchez pressed Kennedy that nan bales vaccine could person saved a child’s life successful Texas, nan caput responded, “It's possible. Certainly.”

Sánchez besides criticized nan truth that nan CDC ended pro-vaccine messaging ,while astatine nan aforesaid clip promoting videos of Kennedy “hanging retired shirtless successful a basking tub pinch Kid Rock.” In February, RFK released a video of him spending clip pinch Kid Rock and participating successful galore “MAHA” encouraged activities, specified arsenic drinking full milk.

“Somehow you deliberation that's a amended nationalist wellness connection than informing nan nationalist astir nan benefits of vaccines. Really?” she asked.

In a peculiarly fiery moment, Rep. Terri Sewell (D-Ala.) criticized Kennedy for antecedently saying that Black children who are medicated for attraction shortage hyperactivity upset should beryllium “re-parented.”

“I don't moreover cognize what that building means,” he said during a heated exchange. “I’m not going to reply thing that I didn't say.”

This came contempt nan truth that Kennedy made nan remarks connected nan 19Keys net show successful 2024.

“Every Black kid is now, conscionable modular put connected Adderall, SSRIs, benzos, which are known to induce violence,” he said. “And those kids are going to person a chance to spell location and get re-parented, to unrecorded successful a community, wherever will beryllium nary compartment phones, nary screens, you’ll really person to talk to people.”

There is small grounds that each Black children are fixed psychiatric medicine and galore Black group are not diagnosed pinch ADHD until later successful life. Sewell denounced Kennedy’s terms, specifically successful really they subordinate to separating Black children from their families.

“For you to propose that achromatic families are not tin of raising their ain children is profoundly offensive,” Sewell told Kennedy. “Sir, you are nan Secretary of Health and Human Services for nan world's astir powerful country, and your words matter.”

But Kennedy did not conscionable person disapproval from Democrats. Rep. Blake Moore (R-Utah), nan begetter of an autistic son, said that he appreciated Kennedy’s attraction connected autism, but expressed siren astir his and Trump’s comments astir acetaminophen’s alleged nexus to autism. Studies person shown that nan usage of acetaminophen by pregnant women has nary nexus to autism.

“We don't moreover cognize she took Tylenol during her pregnancy, but that was a hurtful infinitesimal for her, and I conscionable want to promote nan management and your squad to support astatine it,” Moore said. “And I deliberation there's, there's much we tin do here.”

Kennedy has promoted nan thought that nan United States has an “autism epidemic,” moreover though nan CDC’s ain investigation shows that nan summation successful nan past 3 decades came acknowledgment to improved screening and an expanded diagnostic criteria.

Next week, Kennedy is group to attest connected nan Senate side, wherever he will travel look to look pinch Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), a who staked overmuch of his credibility arsenic a gastroentrologist to corroborate Kennedy only for President Donald Trump to endorse nan senator’s superior challenger Rep. Julia Letlow.