Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at a hearing Tuesday faced tough questions from Senate appropriators, including some from his own party, over proposed cuts to biomedical research, the agency’s reorganization efforts and changes to local health grants.
Kennedy, testifying before the Senate Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Subcommittee, sometimes deflected and other times fought back as he outlined his vision for reducing and preventing chronic disease through his department’s $94 billion budget request for fiscal 2026.
Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., in her first hearing as subcommittee chair, told Kennedy that “HHS has always worked with Congress when considering and designing reorganizations, and I encourage you and your staff to work closely with us as you move forward.”
