By: Russ Spencer

In what The Guardian of the UK described as a “bruising and chaotic hearing on Capitol Hill,” Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. faced searing bipartisan scrutiny on Tuesday during an hours-long session before the House Health Subcommittee. The hearing, ostensibly convened to discuss the Department of Health and Human Services’ fiscal budget, devolved into an extraordinary inquisition of Kennedy’s judgment, honesty, and ideological posture on public health.

What unfolded was not merely a political dressing-down but a vivid portrait of a controversial health chief whose iconoclastic vision for American healthcare is now colliding with the guardrails of governance. Kennedy, a longtime vaccine skeptic and activist, spent the day parrying charges of dishonesty, extremism, and administrative sabotage—encounters that signaled deep and growing rifts even within the Republican caucus that helped confirm him.

The most explosive moment came when Kennedy accused Representative Frank Pallone (D-NJ) of having been “bought” by pharmaceutical contributions. “You’ve accepted $2 million from pharmaceutical companies,” Kennedy said pointedly. “Your enthusiasm for supporting the old [CDC vaccine advisory committee] seems to be an outcome of those contributions.”

As The Guardian report noted, the remark appeared to target Pallone’s evolution from a 1990s skeptic of mercury in vaccines to a defender of modern immunization protocols—a shift Kennedy implied was driven not by science but by financial interests. The accusation prompted immediate outrage. A Republican chair invoked a point of order, ruling the comment as a violation of House decorum and forcing Kennedy to retract the statement under protest.

Yet this was only the beginning of what would become a cascade of censure.

Representative Kim Schrier (D-WA), a pediatrician, launched one of the most stinging critiques of the hearing, accusing Kennedy of deceiving Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA) during his confirmation process. According to Schrier, Kennedy had pledged not to interfere with the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices—only to fire all 17 members of the panel just two weeks ago.

“You lied to Senator Cassidy. You have lied to the American people,” Schrier declared, visibly emotional. “I lay all responsibility for every death from a vaccine-preventable illness at your feet.”

Kennedy denied ever making such a promise, but The Guardian reported that multiple members of the Senate committee had taken Kennedy at his word. His credibility, once tenuously held together by a coalition of Trump-aligned populists and libertarian-leaning lawmakers, now appears to be unraveling.

At the center of this growing storm is Kennedy’s radical reshaping of the U.S. public health infrastructure. His dismissal of the CDC’s vaccine advisory board, and its replacement with eight new members—several with ties to anti-vaccine misinformation—has triggered alarm even among Republicans. Senator Cassidy, once a staunch supporter, publicly called for the suspension of the new advisory group’s inaugural meeting, citing a lack of credentials and a “preconceived bias” against mRNA vaccines.

Kennedy’s defenders argue that he is challenging a sclerotic and overly politicized health establishment. But critics, including experts cited by The Guardian, warn that the changes may usher in an era of pseudoscientific policymaking with devastating consequences for national health.

The CDC, under Kennedy’s directive, has also withdrawn its recommendation that pregnant women receive the COVID-19 vaccine. “There was no science supporting that recommendation,” Kennedy insisted during the hearing, contradicting a robust body of peer-reviewed evidence confirming the vaccine’s safety and efficacy in pregnancy.

“We’re not depriving anybody of choice,” he added. “If a pregnant woman wants the COVID-19 vaccine, she can get it.” But health officials warn that pulling such guidance could leave vulnerable populations misinformed and underprotected.

In a curious policy pivot, Kennedy used the hearing to unveil a sweeping national health initiative: a proposal to outfit every American with a government-endorsed fitness tracker within four years. “If you can achieve the same thing with an $80 wearable, it’s a lot better for the American people than costly prescriptions,” he said, pledging a “historic” public information campaign to promote the devices.

The Guardian report cast doubt on the initiative’s feasibility and raised questions about its scientific foundation. Critics noted that while digital health tools may have value, substituting them for evidence-based medicine could pose grave risks, particularly for patients with chronic or complex conditions.

Perhaps the most damning moment came when Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) questioned Kennedy about ongoing criminal investigations into Medicare Advantage fraud by UnitedHealthcare, the nation’s largest insurer.

“You are not aware that the Trump Department of Justice is investigating the largest insurance company in America?” she asked, visibly incredulous.

Kennedy appeared flustered. When Ocasio-Cortez clarified that private insurers defraud U.S. taxpayers of approximately $80 billion annually through the Medicare Advantage system, Kennedy asked: “Did you say 80 million or billion?”

“Eighty. With a ‘B’,” she shot back.

The exchange drew attention to what The Guardian described as “a concerning lack of fluency in the core issues of federal health governance,” adding fuel to concerns that Kennedy’s ideological battles are eclipsing basic oversight responsibilities.

Kennedy’s sweeping cuts to HHS have also drawn scrutiny. Entire departments—focused on maternal health, rural healthcare access, pandemic surveillance, and minority outreach—have reportedly been gutted. While Kennedy argues these were “duplicative administrative offices,” critics charge that essential services have been rendered inoperable.

Lawsuits from dismissed career staff have already led to injunctions against several of the layoffs, but the damage appears to have been done. As The Guardian reported, multiple public health offices remain unstaffed, hampering emergency readiness and public trust.

Kennedy hinted that “some workers may be reinstated” if legal obstacles are cleared, but offered no concrete plan for restoring functionality. His opponents see a deliberate dismantling of public institutions in service of libertarian ideals that leave the most vulnerable at risk.

For Democrats, Tuesday’s hearing confirmed their deepest fears: that a vaccine-skeptical activist with a long record of promoting discredited theories now presides over America’s public health command center. For Kennedy, the day marked a deeper entrenchment in his war against what he characterizes as a “corrupt health establishment.”

But as The Guardian report noted, the drama is not merely political theater — it is about the architecture of American health policy at a moment of historic uncertainty. What remains to be seen is whether Kennedy’s revolution will lead to renewal — or ruin.