Democrats grill RFK Jr. over his anti-vax policies, ‘measles running rampant’ and lack of medical license: Live updates

Rep. Linda Sanchez, a California Democrat, tore into the HHS secretary of his remarks about vaccines.

“You espoused numerous disproven theories,” she said, adding that he specifically expressed skepticism about the measles vaccine.

“A deadly measles outbreak in Texas killed a six-year-old, the first such death in a decade,” Sanchez. “As a mother, this horrifies me.”

She then accused Kennedy of having the wrong priorities, mocking a recent video of the secretary drinking milk in a hot tub with Kid Rock.

“You’ve got a lot of misinformation there,” Kennedy shot back. “We’ve done better at preventing measles than any country in the world.”

Rep. Danny Davis, an Illinois Democrat, slammed Kennedy over the White House’s proposed budget cuts, claiming they pose a danger to pregnant women.

“Black women are nearly three times as likely to die from pregnancy related causes as white women,” Davis said. “Yet the Trump administration is undermining black maternal health. President Trump just proposed cutting maternal and child health programs by over $800 million.”

Rep. Mike Thompson, a California Democrat, accused Kennedy of undermining vaccines and putting Americans at risk.

“Kids have died because measles is running rampant under your watch in large part because President Trump allowed your conspiracy theories to run our public health,” he said.

Since January 2025, there have been 3,564 confirmed measles cases in the U.S., marking the largest number of cases since 2000, according a report last month from Harvard University.

Rep. David Schweikert, an Arizona Republican, offered up more questions on fraud.

“New York state pays, on average, 80 percent more per capita on Medicaid than any other state,” Kennedy said. “Part of the reason for that are these waiver programs that many of the states have applied for and received.”

“Waivers allow family members who are taking care of an elderly parent for balancing the checkbook, for groceries…these are family members who are getting paid to do things that they used to do as family members for free, and this is rife with fraud because we have no way at CMS to determine whether they perform that duty or not.”

“We are paying as much for fraud now as we are for medicine,” Kennedy added.

Rep. Adrian Smith, a Nebraska Republican, asked Kennedy about what he’s done to improve rural health.

“We’ve seen closures of 120 rural hospitals since 2010…it is a crisis,” Kennedy said. “President Trump made the biggest investment in rural health care in American history, a $50 billion dollar health transformation fund.”

Rep. Richard Neal, a Massachusetts Democrat, lazered in on Kennedy’s focus on combating fraud, suggesting the administration has been hypocritical.

He listed off the names of several executives convicted of fraud who have been pardoned by President Donald Trump in the past year.

“If we’re gonna talk about fraud, it’s not just the people on the lower end of the economic scale,” Neal said. “If we’re gonna pursue fraud, Mr. Secretary, it has to be across the board.”

Rep. Vern Buchanan, a Florida Republican, asked Kennedy what can be done to address “diet and exercise” in America.

“We brought together the best nutritionists in this country,” Kennedy said. “A dozen of them worked 11 months to reform the dietary guidelines.”

He said the previous food pyramid — which had “Fruit Loops” at the top — was driven by corporate interests and did not promote healthy living.

“That’s the beginning,” Kennedy said. “We have to drive those changes into the food culture in our country.”

“President Trump and I are challenging the status quo and the institutions that defend it as we work to make America healthy again,” Kennedy said in his opening remarks.

He then listed off a number of his accomplishments, which he said included cutting red tape, demanding transparency and cracking down on fraud.

He specifically pointed to his department’s new dietary guidelines, protecting children from “sex-rejected procedures” and expanding rural health care.

Rep. Richard Neal, a Massachusetts Democrat, is tearing into Kennedy on a host of issues.

He accused Kennedy of making “baseless claims about Tylenol and autism” and claimed that his agenda includes “obstacles to better health care.”

Rep. Jason Smith, a Missouri Republican who chairs the committee, has kicked off the hearing.

In his opening remarks, he discussed lowering the cost of health care for rural Americans and addressing fraud in the health care system.

“We must hold the criminals who steal billions from the American people accountable,” he said.