STAT+: In combative hearings, Kennedy defends HHS cuts, backtracks — and lashes out
WASHINGTON — In hours of combative congressional hearings Wednesday, health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. swung between defending sweeping changes at his agency and backtracking on aspects of a reorganization he nevertheless said would be “painful.”
He repeatedly cast doubts on reports about negative impacts of the changes, often calling them a “canard.” For instance, he claimed that amid sweeping cuts to his agency, “we did not fire any working scientists.”
His statement before the Senate HELP Committee seems to contradict news reports and former agency staff, who say deep funding cuts have halted scientific research and clinical trials across the country.
Daniel Payne and Isabella Cueto
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