RFK Jr. Tries to Steamroll Democratic Senator Until Republican Tells Him to ‘Let the Senator Ask the Questions’

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. verbally sparred with Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) at a Senate committee hearing Tuesday, repeatedly interrupting her until the senator appealed to a Republican colleague to intervene.

Kennedy appeared before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies Tuesday to answer questions regarding his agency’s budget request for fiscal year 2026. Kennedy’s nomination by President Donald Trump to head the federal health agencies was controversial due to his long history of promoting conspiracy theories and other false information about vaccines and other issues, and the efforts by the Elon Musk-led DOGE to slash agency budgets and terminate scores of staffers have drawn additional criticism.

When Murray got her turn to question Kennedy, she began by calling his actions since he took over HHS “devastating” to millions of Americans supported by the agency’s programs and said he was required to send the committee an “operating plan” budget, but what he had sent “had over 530 asterisks” instead of the actual funding levels.

“You are blocking billions in funding that Congress appropriated,” she continued, listing funds she said were “illegally ripped away” from Head Start, child care, mental health and substance abuse treatment, cancer screenings, birth control, Alzheimer’s, research, and various state and local health department programs.

“We know you are dismantling HHS and throwing away generations of investments in our health care system and firing critical employees,” said Murray. “On top of all of this, you propose a budget now with truly devastating cuts that would leave America sicker and weaker” and would “ced[e] American leadership on biomedical research.”

The senator brought up Kennedy’s past committee testimony, saying it left her “pretty confused and concerned” about what was happening at HHS because he had “repeatedly claimed staffing and funding cuts that have been reported on publicly and even confirmed by your department staff are not happening.”

“So either you are lying or you’re not the one making the decisions,” said Murray. “Secretary Kennedy, whose decision was it to withhold childcare and development block grant funding?”

Kennedy responded by bringing up the 2021 budget from during President Joe Biden’s administration as Murray repeatedly attempted to get him to answer her actual question.

“OK, you can go down that road, I have just two minutes left — I want — I asked you a specific question,” said Murray.

Kennedy retorted that Murray had “presided over the destruction of the health of the American people.”

“Our people are now the sickest people in the world because you have not done your job,” he said.

“Mr. Secretary, seriously,” said a clearly irritated Murray, and then repeated again, “Mr. Secretary, seriously” as he continued.

“What have you done about the epidemic of disease?” he demanded.

“– Mr. Secretary,” Murray tried again, holding up a hand as she attempted to get him to stop. “That is an amazing — Mr. Secretary — I am here to ask — Mr. Secretary –”

“What have you done about the epidemic of disease?” Kennedy asked again.

“Seriously, Madam Chair,” Murray appealed to Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), the chair of the committee.

“I would ask you to hold back, Mr. Secretary, and let the senator ask the questions,” said Capito.

Murray asked again. “Mr. Secretary, I’m asking you a question. I am asking you about childcare — I’m asking you who made the decision to withhold childcare and development block grant funding.”

“That was made by my department,” said Kennedy.

The two continued to spar over cuts to clinical trials, termination of thousands of scientists and other NIH staff, and past committee testimony, with Murray accusing Kennedy of dragging his feet getting his staff to provide information and generally being recalcitrant in his dealings with the committee.

“You came here to argue with me,” said Murray. “I came here to ask you questions about your budget request. Your budget request is asking us to cut dramatically, but I am also making the point that Senator Baldwin made, that what you are doing right now is enacting your budget that Congress has not passed by cutting critical funding across the board, and I think this committee will find that to be very detrimental in the future. Thank you, Madam Chair.”

Murray posted several tweets lambasting Kennedy for his committee testimony and responding to his accusations that she and her Senate colleagues had destroyed the health of the American people.

“RFK Jr. is a shameless liar and, candidly, an insane conspiracy theorist,” she wrote. “This grifter is making America LESS healthy & LESS safe.”

“I don’t want this to get lost: after RFK Jr. finished with his tantrum, he ADMITTED he is blocking BILLIONS in federal child care funding,” she added. “That needs to change IMMEDIATELY.”

Watch the video above via C-SPAN.