Top 5 Most Stunning Moments From RFK Jr.’s Bombastic Senate Hearing: ‘Killing Millions!’

A Senate Finance Committee hearing on Thursday with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was filled with tense exchanges and heated incidents from almost the moment it started.

Kennedy appeared before the Senate following the departure of CDC Director Susan Monarez and other officials. Monarez accused Kennedy of wanting her to endorse his vaccine guidelines even if they went against scientific evidence (something he denied), and senators accused Kennedy of everything from lying to putting infants in danger.

The hearing got so off the rails at times that CNN quickly cut together a montage of Kennedy clashing with Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Michael Bennet (D-CO), and others.

“This was not just a run-of-the-mill political food fight,” CNN anchor Dana Bash noted. “This is senators from both parties, Democrats and many Republicans, trying to get basic answers from the Secretary of Health and Human Services about significant changes to the CDC, radical changes to vaccine policy.”

Here are the five most stunning moments from Kennedy’

s fiery hearing.

1. PROTESTER KICKS OFF HEARING:

Things were heated before Kennedy even got to his first question. His opening statement was disrupted by a protester who accused him of “killing millions.” It was unclear what else the protester said, but she made reference to “authorization” and “it takes three months.”

The protester, a woman in a wheelchair, was taken out of the room while Kennedy got back to his opening statement.

2. SENATE REPUBLICAN TRAPS KENNEDY WITH NOBEL PEACE PRIZE QUESTION:

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), also a physician and vaccine advocate, asked Kennedy whether he agreed that President Donald Trump should be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work on Operation Warp Speed, which saw a Covid-19 vaccine receive swift approval.

Kennedy said he did agree only for Cassidy to reveal the apparent trap he had laid for him.

“Let me ask you, but you just told Sen. Bennett that the Covid vaccine killed more people than Covid,” Cassidy said, leading to a heated exchange with Kennedy. At one point, Kennedy accused the Republican lawmaker of making a “speech” against him rather than asking questions.

3. KENNEDY CLAIMS HE FIRED CDC DIRECTOR BECAUSE SHE SAID SHE’S NOT ‘TRUSTWORTHY’:

During an exchange with Warren, Kennedy claimed that Monarez was fired from the CDC after she admitted to him that she was not trustworthy.

“I told her that she had to resign because

I asked her, ‘Are you a trustworthy person?’ And she said, ‘No.’ So if you had an employee who told you they were not trustworthy, would you ask them to resign, senator?” Kennedy said, earning some stifled chuckles from Democrats.

Kennedy claimed Monarez was lying about the pressure on vaccines he was supposedly putting on her, saying he never had a private meeting with her, and witnesses can corroborate that her statements about her firing were false.

4. ‘HOW CAN YOU BE THAT IGNORANT?’ KENNEDY ADMITS HE DOESN’T KNOW NUMBER OF COVID DEATHS:

Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) was incensed to learn Kennedy does not know the number of people who died during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Do you accept the fact that a million Americans died from Covid?” Warner asked.

“I don’t know how many died,” Kennedy replied.

Warner asked whether the Covid vaccine prevented deaths and Kennedy said he’d need to look at the data.

“So, Mr. Chairman, the Secretary of Health and Human Services doesn’t know how many Americans died from Covid, doesn’t know if the vaccine helped prevent any deaths, and you are sitting as Secretary of Health and Human Services? How can you be that ignorant?” Warner said.

5. KENNEDY AND WARREN GET PERSONAL:

Kennedy had plenty of dust-ups with lawmakers on Thursday, but an exchange with Warren got a little personal as she accused him of lying

about vaccine access, while he made reference to political donations she’s received from pharmaceutical companies.

Warren accused Kennedy of limiting access to the Covid vaccine thanks to a narrower recommendation from the FDA (Food and Drug Administration). The new guidance recommends the vaccine for people 65 and older, as well as people ages 5 to 64 who have underlying conditions that would make them more vulnerable to Covid.

“I never promised that I was going to recommend products for which there is no indication… And I know you’ve taken $855,000 dollars from pharmaceutical companies, senator!” Kennedy said.

“Did you hold up a big sign saying that you were lying when you said that? Because you are the one who said you would not take them away,” Warren shot back, referring to Kennedy’s confirmation hearing.

Watch the clips above.