RFK Jr. testifies before congressional committees amid layoffs, overhaul at HHS

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., before a House committee Wednesday morning, defended the massive cuts to the department’s workforce and laid out his priorities for the Trump administration’s proposed budget — all while he is expected to field questions about his history of promoting conspiracy theories and controversial comments about vaccines.

Kennedy is appearing before the House Appropriations Committee Wednesday morning. He will then head to the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee in the afternoon.

In his opening statement, Kennedy said his goal at HHS is to focus on the chronic disease epidemic and deliver effective services for those who rely on Medicare, Medicaid and other services by cutting costs to taxpayers.

“We intend to do more, a lot more with less. The budget I’m presenting today supports these goals and reflects two enduring American values, compassion and responsibility,” Kennedy said in his opening statement.

Kennedy said the new budget addresses priorities including tackling mental health and addiction; addressing nutrition, physical activity and healthy lifestyles; equipping the FDA to expand food safety experts; eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion funding; strengthening cybersecurity and rebuilding.

He also rebuked criticism of his agency’s response to the measles outbreak.

“We are doing a better job at CDC today than any nation in the world controlling this measles outbreak. I’m happy to elaborate on that afterward,” Kennedy said.

Democratic Rep. Rosa DeLauro, ranking Member of the House Appropriations Committee, slammed Kennedy and the Trump’s administration for the cuts to HHS, including the elimination of entire divisions.

In April, HHS began laying off about 10,000 workers and consolidating 28 institutes and centers into 15 new divisions.

Including the roughly 10,000 people who have left over the last few months through early retirement or deferred resignation programs, the overall staff at HHS is expected to fall from 82,000 to around 62,000 — or about a quarter of its workforce.

“Mr. Secretary, you are gutting the life-saving work of the Department of Health and Human Services and its key agencies while the Republicans in this Congress say and do nothing,” DeLauro said. “Because of these cuts people will die.”

In a video statement posted on X prior to the layoffs, Kennedy said that he plans to bring to the agency a “clear sense of mission to radically improve the health of Americans and to improve agency morale.”

Kennedy has defended the cuts as necessary to weed out wasteful spending at one of America’s largest departments, but he has drawn criticism for laying off people who are responsible for regulating tobacco usage, monitoring lead exposure in children and diagnosing black lung disease in miners.

The secretary himself has appeared not to know about some of the cuts, telling CBS News last month he was “not familiar” with several cuts cited by the outlet.

Wednesday marks the first time Kennedy has testified before Congress since his confirmation hearings in late January, and he may be forced to confront statements he made that critics say are evidence of promises broken.

Kennedy said several times during his hearing in January that he supports vaccines, although he refused to unequivocally say that vaccines don’t cause autism, despite numerous existing studies already showing there is no link.

“I support the measles vaccine. I support the polio vaccine. I will do nothing as HHS secretary that makes it difficult or discourages people from taking either of those vaccines,” Kennedy said.

However, in March, the HHS confirmed that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will study whether vaccines cause autism.

DeLauro scolded Kennedy for promoting vaccine skepticism in the wake of a measles outbreak spreading across the U.S.

Additionally, in the wake of several ongoing measles outbreaks across the U.S. and over 1,000 cases so far this year, Kennedy has shared contradicting views about vaccines.

In a post on X on April 6, Kennedy said that the “most effective way to prevent the spread of measles” is to receive the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine. However, in a post later that evening, he said more than 300 children have been treated with an antibiotic and a steroid, neither of which are recognized treatments or cures for measles.

Kennedy’s embrace of anti-vaccine ideas nearly put his confirmation in jeopardy, as he faced resistance from Louisiana Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy, a physician who heads the HELP committee. Cassidy expressed concerns about Kennedy’s views on vaccines before ultimately voting to move him through the confirmation process in February.

Cassidy said, at the time, that Kennedy assured him he would not alter vaccine policy without “ironclad” scientific evidence. The senator added that Kennedy and Trump officials promised him an “unprecedentedly close collaborate working relationship” with the secretary.

Currently, Cassidy does not believe Kennedy has violated the commitments he made to him, a person familiar with the senator’s thinking told ABC News.

The men speak multiple times per week and have maintained a productive relationship, three people with knowledge of their dynamic said.

An HHS spokesperson said Kennedy “maintains a professional and respectful relationship with Senator Cassidy, grounded in a shared commitment to public health and evidence-based policymaking.”

Cassidy plans to tell Kennedy on Wednesday that the secretary can “set the record straight” about how HHS will “maintain its critical duties and implement change important to Americans’ health,” according to an excerpt of Cassidy’s remarks, which were obtained by ABC News.

ABC News’ Cheyenne Haslett and Anne Flaherty contributed to this report.