Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appeared before seven congressional committees in recent days, taking questions—and criticism—from dozens of lawmakers.
Here are key exchanges from the sessions.
Budget Cuts Are Necessary
The White House has proposed a 12.5 percent cut to the budget of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), along with cuts to other agencies.
“All of those cuts are painful,” Kennedy said. “Nobody wants to do them.”
However, he said the cuts are necessary because of growing national debt.
While Democrats criticized the proposal, some Republicans, including Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), said they support it.
“Thank you for making necessary cuts where we agree that they are definitely needed,” Hyde-Smith said….