RFK Jr. will testify before Congress and face questions

14/5/2025 18:12

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will testify before Congress on Wednesday for the first time since taking the role of U.S. health secretary, and will face questions over the firing of thousands of health agency employees and a fast-growing measles outbreak.



Kennedy will testify before both the House of Representatives Appropriations Committee on his department's proposed budget for the 2026 fiscal year, and the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee.



Since he was confirmed as Secretary of Health and Human Services in February, Kennedy has slashed jobs at the nation's top food and drugs regulator, public health agency and biomedical research institute, part of the Trump administration's campaign to shrink the federal workforce.



Kennedy says his top priorities as health secretary include identifying the environmental contributors to autism and tackling rising rates of chronic disease.

Kennedy, who for years has sown doubt over the safety and efficacy of vaccines, has also drawn condemnation from health officials for what they say is a weak endorsement of measles shots during an outbreak that has infected more than 1,000, mostly unvaccinated, people and killed three.