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Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., got into a heated debate with Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Or., during a hearing on Thursday.
The exchange came as Kennedy was testifying before the Senate Finance Committee. Wyden accused Kennedy of putting children into “harm’s way” with his policies and argued Kennedy has shown no regrets about doing so.
“This is about kids being pushed into harm’s way by reckless and repeated decisions to get scientists and doctors out of the way and allow conspiracy theories to dictate this country’s health policy,” Wyden said at the end of his questioning.
“I don’t see any evidence that you have any regrets about anything you’ve done or plans to change it. And my last comment is, I hope that you will tell the American people how many preventable child deaths are an acceptable sacrifice for enacting an agenda that I think is fundamentally cruel and defies common sense. Thank you, Mr. Chairman,” Wyden said.
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Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. arrives to testify before the Senate Finance Committee at the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Sept. 4, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Andrew Harnik )
“Do I get a reply?” Kennedy said. “Senator you’ve sat in that chair how long? 20-25 years while the chronic disease of our children went up to 76%. And you said nothing.”
“You never asked the question why it’s happening. Why is this happening? Today, for the first time in 20 years, we’ve learned that infant mortality has increased in our country. It’s not because I came in here. It’s because of what happened during the Biden administration that we’re going to end,” he continued.
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Committee Chairman Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, then intervened, granting Wyden another chance to speak briefly, though his microphone remains turned off.
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Or., lashed out at RFK Jr. for his polices at the CDC and across HHS. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
“We’re going to proceed,” Crapo says. “I gave Senator Wyden as ranking member some leeway there, but we’re gonna stick to the five minutes.”
Kennedy’s testimony came one day after over 1,000 current and former HHS employees signed a letter calling for his resignation on Wednesday. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Ver., also called for his resignation.
Kennedy’s critics point to his firing of former Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) director Susan Monarez.
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“We believe health policy should be based in strong, evidence-based principles rather than partisan politics. But under Secretary Kennedy’s leadership, HHS policies are placing the health of all Americans at risk, regardless of their politics,” the Wednesday letter read.
