on Wednesday concluded a marathon series of hearings with federal lawmakers, during which he deflected blame for and across the country and touted several initiatives he says are .
In his testimony to various committees in both the Senate and the House over multiple days this week and last, Kennedy was tasked with defending President Donald Trump鈥檚 , which would boost defense spending while cutting more than 12% of funding from Kennedy鈥檚 Department of Health and Human Services.
With lawmakers of both parties raising concerns about programs and research funding being reduced or eliminated, Kennedy acknowledged the cuts were 鈥減ainful鈥� but said they were necessary to address the federal government鈥檚 record .
When Democrats came out swinging, Kennedy became more defiant, even at times screaming his rebuttals 鈥� though some of them didn鈥檛 align with the facts. He accused multiple Democratic lawmakers of grandstanding, making things up and seeking sound bites over meaningful responses.
Here are takeaways from Kennedy鈥檚 gauntlet of budget hearings:
Kennedy deflects blame for Americans not vaccinating
One of the central fights shaping Kennedy鈥檚 interactions with Democratic lawmakers was over who bears responsibility for the decline in childhood vaccination rates and measles outbreaks that have ripped across the country over the past year, threatening the country鈥檚 . Kennedy鈥檚 refrain was consistent: It鈥檚 not my fault.
鈥淚t has nothing to do with me,鈥� Kennedy said Tuesday of the uptick in measles across the country over the past year. He noted there is a global , including in other countries like Canada, Mexico and the United Kingdom.
Kennedy, who spent years as an anti-vaccine crusader before entering politics and in 2021 on when kids should get vaccines, disputed accusations that he is anti-vaccine, saying he is 鈥減ro-science.鈥�
Throughout the hearings, he sought to focus on HHS鈥檚 initiatives unrelated to vaccines 鈥� part of a broader administration pivot toward less controversial health topics like nutritious eating.
Kennedy argued that fewer Americans are vaccinating because they lost trust in government recommendations during the COVID-19 pandemic. He said he was working to restore that trust. In fact, surveys show trust in federal health agencies has during Kennedy鈥檚 tenure.
Rep. Kim Schrier, a Democrat from Washington, argued Kennedy鈥檚 vaccine views have caused a 鈥渟pillover effect鈥� that has led to mothers not giving their babies vitamin K injections common at birth to prevent brain bleeding.
鈥淚鈥檝e never said anything about vitamin K,鈥� Kennedy said.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 exactly the point,鈥� Schrier replied.
Kennedy did get credit, however, from Republican Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, who said his work was crucial in helping the state manage a troubling over the past year.
鈥淲e would not be on the right side of this outbreak without your leadership,鈥� Scott told Kennedy.
Kennedy forcefully denies there are Medicaid cuts 鈥� a claim experts call political spin
Nearly every time Democrats brought up the nearly $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts over the next decade largely being created through new work requirements for enrollees, Kennedy lashed back to argue there are no cuts to Medicaid.
鈥淥nly in Washington is it considered a cut,鈥� Kennedy told New Mexico Sen. Ben Ray Luj谩n, a Democrat, on Wednesday.
Kennedy cited a Congressional Budget Office report showing that Medicaid outlays are estimated to increase by about 47% over the next decade. But experts say his analysis of that report is disingenuous, politicized framing and that the increased spending reflects factors like inflation and a growing population.
鈥淭his is an old, sort of tired argument that鈥檚 been used by conservatives to justify spending cuts by saying, well, if spending is still growing in nominal terms, somehow there wasn鈥檛 a cut,鈥� said Edwin Park, a research professor at Georgetown University. 鈥淭he federal government is spending nearly a trillion dollars less than it otherwise would have in the absence of the legislation.鈥�
Lawmakers of both parties are concerned about affordability
A in the 2026 midterm elections is affordability 鈥� including skyrocketing costs for health care and health insurance. That wasn鈥檛 lost on those questioning Kennedy, as lawmakers from both parties raised the issue.
On Tuesday, Rep. Cliff Bentz, a Republican from Oregon, shared the story of his brother who pays $26,000 per year for his health coverage.
鈥淲hat in the world can I go back to him and say? 鈥楬ey, the administration is working on trying to drive these prices down?鈥欌�� he asked Kennedy.
Kennedy, for his part, cited several Trump administration initiatives to lower prices, including the White House’s TrumpRx website for discounted drugs and Trump鈥檚 so-called most favored nations deals with pharmaceutical companies.
Pressed by senators, Kennedy pledged to provide details of those deals that didn鈥檛 include proprietary information or trade secrets. Some Democrats wanted him to do more.
鈥淲hy don鈥檛 you do an agreement yourself? he said in a jab to Sen. Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat. 鈥淵ou鈥檝e had power to do that for 20 years and haven鈥檛 done it.鈥�
Kennedy acknowledges some HHS cuts are 鈥榩ainful鈥�
To achieve a more than 12% cut of the more than $100 billion HHS budget, the Trump administration is proposing slashing some $5 billion from the National Institutes of Health and cutting a bevy of other programs and initiatives, including a low-income home energy assistance program.
Several senators asked Kennedy why different areas were being cut. NIH cuts, in particular, raised bipartisan outcry.
鈥淭here鈥檚 an argument to be made that we鈥檙e handing China our lunch,鈥� said Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina.
Kennedy was candid that neither he nor others at his agency wanted to see the cuts, which he called 鈥減ainful.鈥�
鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of cuts to the agency that nobody wants,鈥� he said.
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