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.
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.
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.
Here were five key exchanges from Tuesday’s hearing:
Retracts claims about Pallone
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.
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.
“What are you afraid of?” 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?”
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.
“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,” Kennedy said.
“Since then, you’ve accepted $2 million from pharmaceutical companies in contributions, more than any other member of this committee,” he continued. “And 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.”
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).
Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.), ranking member of the health subcommittee, immediately raised a point of order, saying Kennedy was “impugning Mr. Pallone.”
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.
Kennedy retracted his words.
‘You lied to Sen. Cassidy’
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.
Cassidy made it known that he was on the fence about confirming Kennedy even after two confirmation hearings. He was ultimately convinced by commitments he received from Kennedy, including that he would “maintain the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices without changes.”
According to Cassidy, Kennedy had also requested his input on hiring decisions at the HHS.
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, noting how some new members “lack experience studying new technologies such as mRNA vaccines, and may even have a preconceived bias against them.”
“I 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,” Schrier said to Kennedy.
“You lied to Sen. Cassidy.”
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.”
‘Defend the spend’ initiative
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.
The process, meant to weed out grants that conflict with President Trump’s agenda, will reportedly compel grantees and officials to justify spending, according to The Washington Post.
DeGette, the subcommittee ranking member, told Kennedy, “Hospitals, universities and community health organizations have told me and the other members lately that funds are stuck at HHS due to this so called ‘defend the spend’ initiative.”
DeGette said she had questioned Kennedy about this initiative in a letter two months ago but never received a response. She asked if the HHS had conducted a cost-benefit analysis on the “defend the spend” actions.
“I don’t know anything about The Washington Post article,” Kennedy said repeatedly.
When DeGette asked if Kennedy knew anything about the initiative, Kennedy said, “About what?”
HIV vaccine research
Rep. Troy Carter (D-La.) needled Kennedy on the canceling of funding for HIV prevention research, including several trials looking at potential vaccines against the virus.
“I’m perplexed why, in April, your administration shuttered nearly every unit in the CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] Division of HIV prevention and reassigned CDC top HIV official, Dr. Jonathan Mermin, given that CDC has historically been the cornerstone of domestic HIV prevention efforts. Do you know the percentage of all federal funding for HIV prevention provided by your agency?” Carter asked Kennedy.
“Congressman, we don’t intend to cut HIV treatment. We are — part of the reorg is reassigning HIV treatment,” Kennedy began before Carter cut him off.
“What I’d like you to know is it’s 91 percent of all federal funding for HIV prevention; 91 percent,” Carter said.
Researchers looking into potential HIV vaccines were told earlier this year that funding would not be extended, with the HHS reportedly telling them that currently available approaches were believed to be enough to eliminate HIV. Kennedy denied personally making the decision to cut funding.
When Carter defended these studies as saving lives, Kennedy retorted, “Show me one life.”
“I can show you a whole lot of lives if you got a minute. I’m insulted that you would suggest that there aren’t lives that have been lost,” Carter said. “People are dying every day, sir. And for you to say, show me one, there are people all over this country that are suffering the loss of their loved ones, sir.”
Alleged DOGE conflicts of interest
Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.) used his time to make the case that Kennedy’s close advisers have significant conflicts of interest that went directly against his aims of promoting “radical transparency” within his department.
Auchincloss brought out displays laying out alleged conflicts of interest relating to HHS special government employee Calley Means, a close adviser to the secretary and brother to Trump’s nominee for U.S. surgeon general, as well as DOGE health czar Brad Smith.
He pointed out that Means is co-founder of the company Truemed, which sells fitness tools and supplements that can be bought with HSA/FSA funds, noting how the GOP’s “big, beautiful bill” and the “make America healthy again” agenda both call for the expansion of using such health saving accounts for health and wellness products.
“So that’s a direct revenue stream for his company while he’s working in the government,” Auchincloss said.
When pressed by the congressman on whether he would require Means to sign financial disclosure forms, Kennedy insisted he had no power to force Means to do anything.
Kennedy then asked if Auchincloss had accepted $400,000 from pharmaceutical companies. The secretary appeared to have a list of lawmakers and the funds they’ve received from the pharmaceutical industry, which he held up with a grin.
“The reason you know that is because I have financial disclosure forms, and I’m asking him to submit the same thing,” Auchincloss shot back.
Auchincloss further noted that Smith is chair CEO of Main Street Health, whose major investors include top health insurance companies that sell Medicare Advantage plans.
“They’re his investors. He owns this company. They own him and while he was there he set the rules and reimbursements for CMS to hook up his investors,” said the congressman, asking Kennedy whether the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) should continue to do business with Main Street Health.
Kennedy said, “Are you saying we should cut Medicare Advantage?”
“Mr. Kennedy your dissembling and diversion distracts from the fact that you refuse to be radically transparent with either Mr. Means or Mr. Smith,” Auchincloss said.
