RFK Jr. Responds To Questions About Cuts During Senate Hearing

By
Billy Costigan
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In a fiery and unapologetically blunt performance on Capitol Hill Wednesday, Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. faced off with House Democrats during an appropriations hearing, delivering pointed critiques of bureaucratic dysfunction, wasteful spending, and the politicization of public health. What unfolded was not a routine budget defense—but a political confrontation that showcased Kennedy’s willingness to challenge entrenched power, even within his former party.

One of the most striking exchanges came with longtime Democratic appropriator Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), who accused Kennedy of slashing critical health programs and risking public health. Kennedy, unshaken, countered with specifics, revealing what he described as “absolute cataclysmic disorganization” at HHS upon his arrival.

“We had nine separate offices of women’s health,” Kennedy stated. “When we consolidate them, Democrats say that we’re eliminating them. We’re not—we’re still appropriating the $3.7 billion, but we’re not keeping all nine.”

The same went for eight offices of minority health, 27 HIV offices, and 59 behavioral health programs—an alphabet soup of redundant bureaucracies Kennedy claims he is streamlining without cutting core services. The strategy: do more with less, and spend smarter, not smaller.

DeLauro’s jab at Kennedy for undermining health priorities was met with another bold counterpunch—this time on the long-fought battle to remove petroleum-based food dyes from children’s diets.

“Congresswoman DeLauro, you say that you’ve worked for 20 years on getting food dye out. Give me credit—I got it out in 100 days!” Kennedy declared.

Major food manufacturers have since pledged to eliminate petroleum-based dyes from their products by the end of 2026, aligning with Kennedy’s timeline—a rapid policy win in an otherwise slow-moving agency.

Kennedy turned his fire into a call for unity when discussing children’s health, breaking from the bitter tone to deliver a message that—while impassioned—cut through the noise.

“Let’s work together and do something we all believe in, which is have healthy kids in our country, for God’s sake,” he said. “There’s no such thing as Republican children or Democrat children. There’s just kids.”

The moment may have been the clearest articulation yet of RFK Jr.’s political style—equal parts populist, policy-focused, and unafraid of partisan backlash.

Another testy exchange came with Rep. Josh Harder (D-CA), who criticized Kennedy’s budget cuts to Medicaid. But Kennedy again went on offense:

“I don’t know if you understand this, or whether you’re just mouthing the Democratic talking points. Cuts to Medicaid are for fraud, waste, and abuse.”

He detailed that more than a million individuals are collecting Medicaid benefits from multiple states, a clear violation of law, and noted another million are double-dipping from both Medicaid and Obamacare. Furthermore, Kennedy confirmed the federal government would no longer fund Medicaid benefits for illegal immigrants—a position that drew clear lines in the policy sand.

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