GOP Senator Forced to Step in After RFK Jr. Loses His Cool in Hearing
Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. exploded during a hearing Tuesday, prompting a Republican senator to urge him to 'hold back.'
Kennedy's outburst came after Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) slammed drastic staffing and funding cuts at his department, and asked whose decision it was to withhold certain childcare and development funds.
Kennedy began by criticizing former President Joe Biden's administration, and when Murray tried to get him back on track, he snapped back: 'You know what, you've made an accusation and I'm going to answer it.'
Kennedy then launched into into a heated personal tirade against Murray, who tried to rein him in to no avail.
'I want to point out something Senator, you've presided here, I think, for 32 years. You've presided over the destruction of the health of the American people,' he said as he raised his voice.
'Seriously?' Murray interjected repeatedly as Kennedy barged on. 'Our people are now the sickest people in the world because you have not done your job!' he exclaimed.
'Mr. Secretary, seriously,' Murray said. But Kennedy, an anti-vaccine activist and frequent peddler of conspiracy theories, wasn't done.
'What have you done about it? What have you done about the epidemic of chronic disease?' he shouted, repeating, 'What have you done about the epidemic of chronic disease?'
That's when Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), the chair of the Senate Appropriations subcommittee that Kennedy was testifying before, decided to step in.
'Mr. Secretary I would ask you to hold back and let the senator ask the questions,' Capito told Kennedy.
The answer to Murray's initial question about who had ordered the funding cuts turned out to be simple.
'That was made by my department,' Kennedy conceded.
It wasn't just Democratic Senators who voiced concern about rollbacks that the HHS has made as part of President Donald Trump's crusade to slash the size of the federal government.
Capito herself addressed recent cuts at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOH), which oversees workplace safety, saying: 'I support the President's vision to right-size our government, but as you and I have discussed, I don't think eliminating NIOSH programs will accomplish that goal.'
Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) said cuts to mining research programs hosted by NIOH, 'undermines our ability to meet national security goals tied to mineral independence and supply chain resilience.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
34 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Republican Senator Co-Sponsors Bill To Raise The Minimum Wage To $15
Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri proposed a bill Tuesday that would raise the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour, his latest move to frame himself as a new kind of pro-worker Republican. Hawley's legislation is not in any danger of actually becoming law — his fellow Republicans hold a majority in the Senate and have been blocking minimum wage increases for years. But the proposal aligns him with a core Democratic demand and further separates Hawley from the traditional anti-union, free-market wing of the GOP when it comes to labor policy. 'Right now, working families, I mean, they haven't gotten a real wage raise in years, and they can't afford anything,' Hawley told HuffPost. 'Right now, the federal minimum wage, if you index it for inflation, or relative to inflation, it's the lowest level since the 1940s.' The federal minimum is just $7.25 per hour and hasn't been raised in more than 15 years, by far the longest such stretch since it was created during the Great Depression. It prevails in the 21 states that currently don't mandate a higher one, many of them clustered in the South. Right now, working families, I mean, they haven't gotten a real wage raise in years, and they can't afford Josh Hawley of Missouri (R) Hawley's bill, co-sponsored by Democratic Sen. Peter Welch of Vermont, would raise the wage floor to $15, then tie it to an inflation index so that it goes up with the cost of living — a common feature in more progressive legislation. Such a hike would force increases in all but the mostly blue states where the wage floor has already been raised above that level. Hawley did not pretend that his proposal stands much chance of becoming law. 'I will try to move it. I mean, I'd love to get a vote on it,' he said. The proposal puts Hawley far ahead of other Republicans, but still behind Democrats on the issue. Most Democratic lawmakers are now pushing for a $17 minimum wage, arguing that $15 — the rallying cry of the Fight for $15 labor campaign, which began in the fast food industry in 2012 — has become inadequate as a living wage due to inflation. Although he supports a more aggressive raise, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) seemed pleased to see Hawley separate himself from other Republicans on the issue. 'I think every Democrat, last month, voted to raise the minimum wage to $17, and I'll look forward to working with Sen. Hawley,' Sanders told HuffPost on Tuesday, referencing an April vote on an amendment to a symbolic budget resolution. The amendment failed by a vote of 47 to 52 with every Republican except Hawley voting no. Hawley said that if the Republican Party wants to brand itself as the party of working people — which it does, according to statements from President Donald Trump and other leaders — then Republicans need to back policies that benefit the working class. 'This is what President Trump ran on. I mean, if we're going to be a working party, we have to do something for working people, and working people haven't gotten a raise in years,' Hawley said. Hawley's positioning himself as a populist, pro-worker conservative has drawn plenty of suspicion from progressives who fear it's a ploy to further drain the Democratic Party's working-class support. Hawley is not the first Republican to back a minimum wage increase. Back in 2021, Sen. Tom Cotton (Ark.) and then-Sen. Mitt Romney (Utah) proposed a boost from $7.25 to $10. But the bill included an immigration measure that would have mandated nationwide use of e-Verify to crack down on undocumented workers, a poison pill for Democrats that isn't part of Hawley's legislation. Earlier this year, Hawley released a policy platform dubbed a 'Pro-Worker Framework.' It included some pro-labor reforms typically associated with Democrats, like putting limits on mandatory 'captive audience' meetings, in which employers pressure workers not to form unions. Then, in March, he joined Democratic Sen. Cory Booker (N.J.) in proposing a bill that would speed up the process for workers to secure their first union contracts, the sort of legislation a typical Republican wouldn't go near. As with Vice-President J.D. Vance, Hawley's positioning himself as a populist, pro-worker conservative has drawn plenty of suspicion from progressives who fear it's a ploy to further drain the Democratic Party's working-class support. But when it comes to maybe moving legislation, lawmakers like Sanders like the idea of having a Republican to work with. 'It would be great if we could get some other Republicans,' the Vermont senator said. '$7.25 federal minimum wage is a national disgrace. We've got to raise it.'
Yahoo
35 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Who is ahead in the NJ governor race on primary election day?
The Brief Voters in New Jersey will select Democratic and Republican candidates for governor on Tuesday. Nearly a dozen candidates are competing for the chance to succeed Gov. Murphy. Polls close at 8 p.m. Voters in New Jersey will have the chance to choose the Democrat and Republican candidates who will fight to succeed Phil Murphy as governor. Along with the governor, Tuesday is also the primaries for the state General Assembly and the uncontested special primaries in state Senate District 35. Here's a look at each candidate for governor, who's ahead for each party and when we can expect results. ***Click on each name to jump to their section. Mikie Sherrill Josh Gottheimer Ras Baraka Steve Fulop Sean Spiller Steve Sweeney Jack Ciattarelli Bill Spadea Jon Bramnick Mario Kranjac Justin Barbera Emerson College Polling/PIX11/The Hill survey: According to a May survey, 28% of registered New Jersey Democratic voters said they would vote for U.S. Rep, Mikie Sherrill, as Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, and U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer each had 11% of Democratic responders' support. A month ahead of the primary, 24% of Dem voters said they were undecided. SurveyUSA: According to a poll conducted in May, voters showed slightly more favorable options for Sherrill compared to the rest of the field. Gottheimer was a close second. Fundraising numbers: Gottheimer has had a slight edge in fundraising, with about $9.1 million in contributions, followed by Sherrill and Fulop, each with about $8.9 million raised for their campaigns, according to the Associated Press. Emerson College Polling/PIX11/The Hill survey: According to a May survey, 44% of registered New Jersey Republican voters said they would vote for former state Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli, while 18% support talk radio host Bill Spadea. A month ahead of the primary, 23% of GOP voters said they were undecided. SurveyUSA: The poll conducted in May only asked voters about Ciattarelli, who "has favorability ratings of 40%-36% among the broader electorate and 63%-19% among Trump voters," accordin gto the New Jersey Globe. Trump endorsement: President Donald Trump endorsed Ciattarelli in May and campaigned for him in a virtual rally. What they're saying "We've seen an increasing lead for Mikie Sherrill in public pre-election polling throughout the past few months," Ashley Koning, director of Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling at Rutgers University, told FOX 5 NY's Morgan McKay on Politics Unusual. "But I would still say that potentially it may be almost anyone's game on the Democratic side, still, because again, we're talking about a primary election where these are low engagement, low turnout and we don't know exactly who is necessarily going to turn out to vote come Election Day." Turning to the Republican side, Koning calls Ciattarelli the "presumed frontrunner." "Yeah, he's the presumed frontrunner, and he's been leading by double digits for months now in any of the public pre-election polling," Koning said. "Again, you know, New Jersey is, we get pinged as this blue state because of our voting at a federal level since probably around the Clinton era, but let's remember that New Jersey is actually much more purple under the hood." How big of a role did President Trump play in the race? "So Trump is going to loom large over this race very much so," Koning said. "When we pulled this 46% of Republican registered voters in New Jersey told us that an endorsement from the president would make them more likely to go for that candidate." Dig deeper Nearly a dozen candidates are competing in New Jersey for the chance to succeed term-limited Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy. Sherrill is a former federal prosecutor and U.S. Navy helicopter pilot. She has represented the 11th District, which includes parts of Essex, Morris and Passaic counties, since her 2018 election. She has since won reelection three times. Gottheimer, a former speechwriter for Bill Clinton and adviser to the head of the Federal Communications Commission, toppled conservative Republican Rep. Scott Garrett in 2016. Gottheimer represents the state's 5th Congressional District, which spans parts of Bergen, Passaic and Sussex counties. Baraka is the current mayor of Newark. First elected mayor in 2014, Baraka has spent over a decade leading Newark through economic and social changes, including reductions in crime and homelessness, and improvements in infrastructure. Most recently, he was arrested outside the Delaney Hall federal immigration detention center while protesting its opening. Fulop, the third-term Democratic mayor of the state's second-biggest city, is a former Marine who served in Iraq after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Back in January, Fulop floated the idea of a 'reverse congestion pricing' toll in an appearance on Good Day New York. Fulop suggested New Jersey could implement similar fees, capitalizing on the state's opportunities for cross-border tolling. Spiller is the president of the New Jersey Education Association and former mayor of Montclair. Spiller began as a science teacher before rising through the ranks of the New Jersey Education Association, becoming its president in 2021 after eight years on the executive board. Sweeney has centered his gubernatorial campaign on reforming New Jersey's budget process and addressing the state's housing challenges. With 20 years of public office experience, including more than a decade as Senate president, Sweeney is banking on his experience and commitment to tackling systemic issues. Ciattarelli, a Somerville native and business founder, is making another run for New Jersey governor. This time, he has the backing of President Trump. Ciattarelli nearly unseated Murphy back in 2021 and finished second in the 2017 GOP primary. This time, he says he is focused on tackling New Jersey's affordability crisis, citing rising taxes, tolls, and fees. Spadea is an entrepreneur and host of the Bill Spadea Show on NJ101.5 FM. Spadea says he's focused on New Jersey's budget and ending the illegal immigration crisis, which he claims costs taxpayers too much. Bramnick says he wants to create a government efficiency panel with private residents and business leaders to identify waste and areas for improvement. He's been in the State Senate since 2022 and was an Assemblyman for nearly two decades prior from 2003-2021. Kranjac is the former mayor of Englewood Cliffs, serving from 2016 to 2024. He calls himself a political outsider determined to change Trenton. Since leaving office, he has continued as a corporate attorney and venture capitalist. Barbera is a contractor and real estate developer from Burlington County. A Marlton native, Barbera's career includes work as a general contractor, insurance claim mitigator, freight carrier, and owner-operator of a CDL A flatbed and commercial snow service operation. By the numbers In the 2024 presidential election in New Jersey, the first results the AP reported came from Hudson County at 8:01 p.m. ET, one minute after polls closed. Vote tabulation ended for the night at 4:21 a.m. ET in Burlington County with about 95% of votes counted.
Yahoo
38 minutes ago
- Yahoo
EDITORIAL: Auditor general targets spending on fighter jets
Be alarmed. Be very alarmed. A day after Prime Minister Mark Carney announced he will invest billions of new taxpayer dollars to meet Canada's NATO target of spending 2% of our gross domestic product (GDP) on defence, a scathing report by the auditor general reveals massive cost overruns in the government's plan to modernize Canada's aging fleet of fighter jets. Karen Hogan reported Tuesday that the cost of buying 88 F-35 fighter jets to replace Canada's aging fleet of CF-18s — estimated at $19 billion in 2022 because the government used outdated information — had increased by almost 50% to $27.7 billion by 2024. That's without including the added costs of building essential infrastructure — now more than three years behind schedule — and purchasing advanced weaponry to make the F-35s fully operational, which Hogan said will add at least $5.5 billion more to the final price tag. The fighter jet program also faces a shortage of qualified pilots, despite being warned about that issue in a 2018 report by the auditor general. Hogan said some of the government's cost increases were unavoidable due to inflation, fluctuations in foreign exchange rates and supply chain shortages caused by the 2020 global pandemic. But others were caused by government failures. 'National Defence's approach to managing risks … had weaknesses, lacking proactive measures to minimize the impact of potential threats and the project did not have robust contingency plans,' Hogan concluded. Adding to the uncertainty is that Carney has ordered a review on whether Canada should purchase all 88 American-made fighter jets or consider possible alternatives such as European-made fighter jets. EDITORIAL: Meeting NATO's 2% target the right move EDITORIAL: Jobless numbers spell trouble Defence Minister David McGuinty gave the standard government boilerplate response to the auditor general's findings, saying the government accepts the auditor general's recommendations and will implement some by Sept. 30 and others by Nov. 30. Which means that, as is the standard operating procedure in responses to critical auditor general reports these days, the same people who created the problems will now be trusted to fix them. That's disturbing in the context of the massive amount of new spending Carney has promised in order to hit Canada's NATO target of committing 2% of Canada's GDP annually to defence spending, starting during this fiscal year, which ends on March 31, 2026, compared to 1.4% last year.
