Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. slapped back Wednesday at Democrats who heaped withering criticism on his spending reductions and vaccine policies.
He also defended his opposition to fluoride while admitting that if he had young children today, he would “probably” have them vaccinated against measles.
Mr. Kennedy clashed with the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, who at a hearing on 2026 funding levels, accused him of cutting critical programs and services in the department. She said he was “promoting quackery” and “peddling unfounded and dangerous vaccine skepticism and spreading lies and misinformation about people living with autism.”
She blamed Mr. Kennedy, who is a longtime, vocal vaccine skeptic, for a measles outbreak in Texas that has led to three deaths.
Mr. Kennedy said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which is under the purview of HHS, “is doing a better job today than any nation in the world in controlling this measles outbreak,” citing statistics from Mexico and Europe.
He also dinged Ms. DeLauro over food dyes, reminding her that Democrats had fought for decades to try to remove artificial colors from the food supply while he has managed to get food producers to stop using them in a matter of months.
“Congresswoman DeLauro, you say that you’ve worked for 20 years on getting food dye out. Give me credit. I got it out in 100 days,” Mr. Kennedy said. “Let’s work together and do something that we all believe in, which is to have healthy kids in our country, for God’s sake.”
Mr. Kennedy is calling for expanded vaccine safety testing, using placebo-controlled trials, which some experts say would delay or limit who can take the shots and make people more wary of them.
Democrat Mark Pocan, of Wisconsin, asked Mr. Kennedy if he’d vaccinate his own children today.
“Probably for measles,” Mr. Kennedy said, but added, “I don’t think people should be taking medical advice from me.”
Democrats have pinned the 2025 measles outbreak on Mr. Kennedy for trumpeting his skepticism of vaccine safety, although he recently reversed course and recommended children receive the combined measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) shot.
He told lawmakers his department has taken significant steps to stop the measles outbreak, which has risen to 1,100 cases, the largest number since 2019.
At the same time, Mr. Kennedy is calling for an overhaul of the government’s vaccine safety and monitoring systems.
“What we’re going to try to do is to lay out the pros and cons, the risks and benefits, accurately, as we understand them, with replicable studies,” Mr. Kennedy said.
He’s also ordered an end to ingestible infant fluoride supplements. Mr. Kennedy cited research that he said shows fluoride is a neurological toxin that can be especially harmful to children and can also destroy important gut bacteria.
Florida and Utah, following Mr. Kennedy’s advice, have banned fluoride from the water supply, sparking fears of rotting teeth.
The lone dentist on the panel, Republican Rep. Mike Simpson of Idaho, told Mr. Kennedy fluoride makes tooth enamel more resistant to decay and said he saw its benefits over more than two decades of practicing dentistry.
“I want to see the studies on this and where we’re headed with this, and I will tell you that if you are successful in banning fluoride… we better put a lot more money into dental education, because we’re gonna need a whole lot more dentists,” Mr. Simpson told the health secretary.
Mr. Kennedy said the benefit from fluoride comes from applying it topically, not ingesting it.
“We can get that through mouthwashes, we can get that through fluoride toothpaste,” Mr. Kennedy said.
The hearing was scheduled to grill Mr. Kennedy on President Trump’s 2026 budget request for the department, which would slash spending more than 26% from 2025 levels. Many of the inquiries were about his current cuts.
Mr. Kennedy is on track to reduce the HHS workforce by 20,000 employees, which he said can be accomplished by consolidation and the elimination of duplicate positions and offices.
Democrats decried the cuts and the additional reductions planned for 2026, warning they would eliminate critical health programs and studies. The department oversees the National Institutes of Health, the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, among others.
Mr. Kennedy insisted the funding reductions would not impact critical services but would save money by eliminating waste and cutting out diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
“There is tremendous waste in my agency,” Mr. Kennedy said. “It grew by 38% during the Biden administration, and public health went down. President Trump has a broader vision than me, which is that the $2 trillion we’re spending a year that we don’t have is landing on our children. That is a health crisis.”
The administration’s 2026 budget proposal slashes NIH spending by $18 billion.
Democrats said that funding is woefully inadequate for the critical research and health information NIH produces.
Mr. Kennedy told Democrats that he will use all of the funding Congress approves, even if it exceeds the Trump administration’s recommendations.
“If Congress appropriates me the money, I’m gonna spend the money,” Mr. Kennedy said. “You have the power of the purse, here.”
• Susan Ferrechio can be reached at sferrechio@washingtontimes.com.
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