RFK Jr. Defends Cuts and Vaccine Stance Amid Congressional Backlash
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. defended a $15.8 billion HHS funding cut and major prevention and peptide policy changes while facing sharp Democratic criticism in House hearings.
NBC NewsKennedy announces policy changes and faces criticism at House hearings
CBS NewsRFK Jr. defends proposed 12% health budget cut, measles response in House testimony
Raw Story'Shocked' Republican claims Dem colleagues lobbed softball questions at RFK Jr.
ABC NewsRFK Jr. spars with House Democrats over vaccine policies amid rise in measles cases
Overview
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. defended a proposed $15.8 billion cut to HHS funding and his vaccine-related policies during House hearings Thursday, the first of seven hearings scheduled for the week.
The department's budget request totals $111.1 billion as Kennedy seeks to consolidate agencies, reform the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force and reclassify 12 peptides to Category 1, officials said.
Democrats sharply criticized Kennedy for undermining vaccine messaging, personnel firings and policy shifts, while Republicans praised him as a "breath of fresh air," according to committee exchanges.
Lawmakers cited 2,287 measles cases last year and another 1,714 this year, and said there were three measles deaths last year, figures cited during testimony.
Kennedy asked the Senate to confirm Dr. Casey Means as surgeon general, whose nomination has been in limbo since February, and faces additional congressional budget hearings this week, officials said.
Analysis
Center-leaning sources frame coverage around public-health criticism by emphasizing evaluative descriptors (e.g., calling Kennedy’s rhetoric 'vaccine-skeptical'), prioritizing Democrats' and experts' perspectives, and quoting extended accusations while giving Kennedy brief rebuttals. Structural choices foreground child deaths and legal blocks to CDC guidance, shaping a narrative that questions Kennedy’s stewardship.