Robert F Kennedy Jr, the US health secretary, faced a contentious hearing before the House ways and means committee on Thursday, with lawmakers accusing him of promoting misinformation and making dangerous decisions on vaccines and public health. The hearing, which covered vaccines, food dyes, and cuts to key programmes, became acrimonious as Democrats pressed Kennedy on his actions.
Kennedy, a longtime vaccine opponent, has overseen sweeping changes to routine vaccination recommendations amid the biggest measles outbreak in decades, with nearly 2,300 cases reported under President Trump. Democratic Representative Mike Thompson said Kennedy’s “dangerous conspiracy theories are undermining safe and effective vaccines”, while Representative Linda Sánchez repeatedly asked if President Trump approved ending the CDC’s pro-vaccine public messaging campaign, which Kennedy avoided answering directly.
Kennedy also promoted misinformation during the hearing, incorrectly claiming that the hepatitis B vaccine has not been properly studied and that babies are at zero risk unless their mother is infected. However, as many as 500,000 pregnant patients are never tested for hepatitis B, and the virus can persist on surfaces. Republican Representative Blake Moore objected to the administration’s false claim that Tylenol use in pregnancy causes autism, saying it hurt his wife.
Kennedy is also “reforming” the US Preventive Services Task Force, which he called “lackadaisical and negligent for 20 years”. Lawmakers pushed him on cuts to Medicaid and Medicare, with Representative Lloyd Doggett noting that 850 agents and brokers suspected of fraud were reinstated under the Trump administration. Kennedy dismissed the claim as “not a credible story”.
