在周二的一次听证会上，卫生与公众服务部部长小罗伯特·F·肯尼迪在削减国家卫生研究院(NIH)、疫苗信息和解雇疾病控制和预防中心(CDC)前主任等问题上受到压力。
众议院能源和商业委员会卫生小组委员会举行的听证会标志着众议院立法者举行的四次预算听证会的最后一次会议。
研究削减
众议员利兹·弗莱彻。，表示她对特朗普政府2027财年预算请求中失去联邦医疗研究援助感到担忧。
“肯尼迪部长，你是否明白，像这样削减联邦资助的研究预算，将会把美国在生物医学研究方面的领导地位让给中国，并给美国带来国家安全和全球竞争力的挑战?”弗莱彻问肯尼迪。
肯尼迪承认，他同意弗莱彻的担忧，因为最大的拟议削减是对国家卫生研究院和健康美国管理(AHA)项目。
肯尼迪说:“我不想削减国家卫生研究院的项目，[管理和预算办公室主任]罗斯·沃特不想削减国家卫生研究院的项目，但我们有35万亿美元的债务。”。
“我们被要求在HHS全面削减我们1亿美元预算的12%，所以我们正在进行痛苦的削减，”他告诉弗莱彻。
疫苗信息
得克萨斯州众议员马克·维塞。，形容肯尼迪是一生中最“反vax”的人物。他认为肯尼迪谴责疫苗的言论历史与麻疹病例的上升有关。
两名未接种疫苗的学龄儿童去年死于麻疹——这是十年来美国首次死于麻疹。
肯尼迪长期以来一直怀疑麻疹、腮腺炎、风疹(MMR)疫苗的安全性和有效性。尽管这是所有州公立学校的必修疫苗，但在过去十年中，接种率一直在稳步下降，疾控中心数据显示。
CDC的数据显示，疫苗豁免量大幅上升，至少有138，000名幼儿园儿童在最近一个学年中豁免了一种或多种疫苗。
然而，最近几周，一些报道表明肯尼迪在中期选举前远离疫苗怀疑论者的言论。
Veasey和其他人向肯尼迪施压，询问所谓的信息传递策略是否是由白宫指导的。肯尼迪否认了这一点。
“苏西·怀尔斯或白宫里的任何人是否在指导你或建议你停止谈论你有争议的疫苗怀疑论?”Veasey问。
“没有，”肯尼迪回答道。
疾控中心领导层
肯尼迪在与加利福尼亚州众议员劳尔·鲁伊斯的漫长交流中为解雇前疾病预防控制中心主任苏珊·莫纳雷斯进行了辩护。
Ruiz批评肯尼迪驱逐Monarez，因为她据称“拒绝”批准Ruiz所谓的取消儿童疫苗接种计划。
肯尼迪极力反驳议员的描述。
“那不是真的，”肯尼迪说。"她作证说的不是真的。"
肯尼迪和莫纳雷斯去年都出现在参议院委员会面前，讨论驱逐问题。
在2025年9月的参议院听证会上，莫纳雷斯说她因“坚守科学诚信”被特朗普和肯尼迪解雇。
肯尼迪，在在另一个参议院小组的听证会上当月早些时候，莫纳雷斯对事件的说法提出了质疑。他否认在没有科学证据的情况下告诉Monarez接受疫苗建议，并声称她被解雇部分是因为她告诉他她不值得信任。
在周一的听证会上，肯尼迪声称，他解雇的理由与疫苗无关，他的部门将通过国家卫生研究院和美国国家癌症研究所投入10亿美元用于疫苗研究。
Ruiz声称，肯尼迪的疫苗怀疑论观点与唐纳德·特朗普总统的新疾病预防控制中心主任提名人Erica Schwartz博士的观点相反。
在海岸警卫队服役期间，施瓦茨制定了一个疾病监测计划和疫苗接种计划，并为该部队制定了第一份健康保护政策，包括炭疽和天花疫苗接种政策。
Kennedy说，在她被Trump提名领导CDC之前，他审查了Schwartz在on疫苗方面的立场。然而，肯尼迪表示，在特朗普做出提名之前，他没有“直接与总统对话”。
肯尼迪否认了他和施瓦茨的观点不一致的说法，但不会承诺遵循新的疾病预防控制中心主任提名人的所有建议。
“部长先生，如果施瓦茨博士被确认，你今天能公开承诺执行她发布的任何疫苗指南而不受干扰吗?”鲁伊斯问道。
“我不会做出那样的承诺，”肯尼迪回答道。
肯尼迪后来重申，就像他在以前的预算听证会上一样，他有一个解雇莫纳雷斯的“好理由”。
“我解雇了苏珊·莫纳雷斯，因为我问了她一个直截了当的问题，‘你值得信任吗?’她说，“不，”我说，“我能信任你吗?”她说，‘不，’”肯尼迪说。这就是她被解雇的原因，而不是因为她的疫苗问题。"
RFK Jr. says NIH cuts are 'painful,' defends firing of former CDC director during House hearing
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was pressed on cuts to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), vaccine messaging and the firing of the former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) during a hearing on Tuesday.
The hearing before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health marked the final session of four budget hearings before House lawmakers.
Research cuts
Rep. Lizzie Fletcher, D-Tex., said she was concerned about the loss of federal aid for health research in the Trump administration's budget request for fiscal year 2027.
"Secretary Kennedy, do you understand that cutting federally funded research as this budget does, will cede U.S. leadership on biomedical research to China and create national security and global competitiveness challenges for the United States?" Fletcher asked Kennedy.
Kennedy acknowledged that he shared Fletcher's concerns, as the biggest proposed cuts are to NIH and Administration for a Healthy America (AHA) programs.
"I don't want to cut NIH programs, [Office of Management and Budget Director] Russ Vought doesn't want to cut NIH programs, but we have a $35 trillion debt," Kennedy said.
"We have been asked to cut across the board at HHS, 12% of our $100 million budget and so we're making cuts that are painful," he told Fletcher.
Vaccine messaging
Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Tex., described Kennedy as the most "anti-vax" figure in his lifetime. He suggested that Kennedy's history of rhetoric denouncing vaccines is correlated with an uptick in measles cases.
Two unvaccinated school-aged childrendied last year from measles -- the first U.S. deaths from measles in a decade.
Kennedy has long sown doubt in the safety and effectiveness of the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine. Despite being a required vaccine in all states to attend public school, rates have been steadily decreasing over the last decade,CDC datashows.
It comes as vaccine exemptions have risen sharply, with at least 138,000 kindergarteners exempt from one or more vaccines during the most recent school year, CDC data shows.
However,in recent weeks, some reports have suggested Kennedy is staying away from vaccine-skeptic rhetoric ahead of the midterm elections.
Veasey and others pressed Kennedy on whether the alleged messaging strategy was directed by the White House. Kennedy denied that it was.
"Is Susie Wiles or anyone in the White House instructing you or suggesting that you stop talking about your controversial vaccine skepticism?" Veasey asked.
"No," Kennedy replied.
CDC leadership
Kennedy defended firing former CDC director Susan Monarez in a lengthy exchange with Rep. Raul Ruiz, D-Calif.
Ruiz criticized Kennedy for ousting Monarez because she allegedly "refused" to approve what Ruiz called the dismantling of the childhood vaccination schedule.
Kennedy aggressively pushed back on the congressman's characterization.
"That's not true," Kennedy said. "What she testified to wasn't true."
Kennedy and Monarez both appeared in front of Senate committees last year to address the ousting.
At a Senate hearing in September 2025,Monarez saidshe was fired by Trump and Kennedy for "holding the line on scientific integrity."
Kennedy, in ahearing before a different Senate panelearlier that month, disputed Monarez's version of events. He denied telling Monarez to accept vaccine recommendations without scientific evidence, and claimed she was fired in part because she told him she was untrustworthy.
During Monday's hearing, Kennedy claimed that his reasoning for the firing had nothing to do with vaccines and that his department is committing $1 billion to vaccine research through the National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute.
Ruiz claimed Kennedy's vaccine-skeptic views run contrary to the view of President Donald Trump's new CDC director nominee, Dr. Erica Schwartz.
During her time with the Coast Guard, Schwartz instituted a disease surveillance program and vaccination programs and wrote the first health protection policies for the force, including anthrax and smallpox vaccination policies.
Kennedy said he vetted Schwartz's position on vaccines before she was nominated by Trump to lead the CDC. However, Kennedy said he did not speak “to the president directly” before Trump made the nomination.
Kennedy rejected the claim that his and Schwartz's views were not aligned, but would not commit to following all recommendations of the new CDC director nominee.
"Mr. Secretary, if Dr. Schwartz is confirmed, will you commit on the record today to implement whatever vaccine guidance she issues without interference?" Ruiz asked.
"I'm not going to make that kind of commitment," Kennedy replied.
Kennedy later repeated, as he has in his previous budget hearings, that he had a "good reason" for firing Monarez.
"I fired Susan Monarez because I asked her an outright question, 'Are you trustworthy?' and she said, 'No,' and I said, 'Can I trust you?' and she said, 'No,'" Kennedy said. "That's why she got fired, not because of her vaccine issues."
