Emotions fly high behind the scenes at RFK Jr.'s Congressional hearings
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s latest appearance on Capitol Hill was marked by the usual drama – from a famous protestor being thrown out of a committee room to a senior lawmaker shedding a tear away from the glare of cameras.
The newly minted secretary of Health and Human Services faced two Congressional committees on May 14 as he defended the department's plan to reduced staff by 20,000 and cut health care programs. He testified before the House Appropriations Committee and the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.
Democratic Rep. Rosa DeLauro, ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee, grilled Kennedy on the drastic cuts to research programs at agencies including National Institutes of Health. But it was after the room had emptied out that she shared some of her personal history with a handful of reporters.
'I'm an ovarian cancer survivor. It's now 38 years,' a visibly emotional DeLauro said. 'I'm here because of the grace of God and biomedical research.'
Investment in research may not make a difference immediately but it's 5 to 10 years when the country will see the difference -- and that is what she worries about, she said.
During the hearing, lawmakers called out Kennedy on his reluctance to unequivocally advise parents to vaccinate their children as the nation faces a measles outbreak. As someone with a long history of controversial views on vaccines, Kennedy stepped out of his comfort zone in April to say that the MMR vaccine was the 'most effective way to prevent the spread of measles.'
But he stopped short of recommending it to parents.
MAHA: RFK Jr.'s MAHA movement is coming to a state near you
The Wednesday meetings offered lawmakers a chance to question Kennedy directly, with Wisconsin Democrat Rep. Mark Pocan asking Kennedy: 'If you had a child today, would you vaccinate that child for measles?'
'Probably for measles,' Kennedy said, before qualifying his answer. 'What I would say is my opinions about vaccines are irrelevant.'
Pressed further, Kennedy said: 'I don't think people should be taking medical advice from me.'
There was also praise in equal measure from Republican lawmakers who lauded Kennedy for his efforts to phase out artificial dyes from the U.S. food supply.
At the Senate committee meeting, William Arnone, a healthcare policy consultant, sat in the front row. A decades-long advisor to Democratic politicians, Arnone has advised everyone from Kennedy's late father and prominent Democrat Robert F. Kennedy, when he was a U.S. senator from New York, to former Secretary of State and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
Arnone said it was time for a change.
'I've been a traditional supporter of programs that have democratic roots,' he said. 'But it's time for us to reassess everything and focus on the goal, which is prevention, not treatment.'
Within minutes of Kennedy's testimony, five people in the audience rose from their seats and began charging towards Kennedy, with a few shouting "RFK kills people with AIDS.
Ben & Jerry's co-founder Ben Cohen was among the protestors who was removed from the room by Capitol Police. The ice cream company is known for supporting liberal causes and candidates.
"I told Congress they're killing poor kids in Gaza by buying bombs, and they're paying for it by kicking poor kids off Medicaid in the US. This was the authorities' response," he wrote on X.
Others, like Jeffrey Rose, cheered him on, saying Kennedy's Make America Healthy Again movement, which focuses on ending what he calls the 'chronic disease epidemic" by taking on Big Pharma and Big Food, is exactly what the country needs.
Wearing a green MAHA hat, Rose said he first crossed paths with Kennedy, a former environmental lawyer, over 30 years ago.
"Now we have someone working on the MAHA level for the first time," Rose said. "How wonderful is that? How great is that?"
Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy is a White House Correspondent for USA TODAY. You can follow her on X @SwapnaVenugopal
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Emotions fly high behind the scenes at RFK Jr.'s Congressional hearings
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