Exchange at Congressional Hearing
WASHINGTON – During a tense moment in a congressional hearing on Thursday, Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was questioned about whether he had ever “reparented” a black child.
Rep. Terry Sewell (D-Ala.) confronted Kennedy, bringing up previous comments he made in a 2024 podcast regarding the high prescription rate of Adderall in the black community.
“Secretary, you’ve previously stated that you’re not a board-certified physician and that you didn’t attend medical school. So, have you ever raised a black child?” Sewell asked during the House Ways and Means Committee session.
Kennedy responded, saying, “I don’t even know what that word means, and I doubt I ever said it.” His agitation grew as he continued, “You’re just making things up,” and at one point exclaimed, “I don’t even know what that means.”
Following their exchange, recordings surfaced of Kennedy mentioning that children prescribed Adderall, SSRIs, and benzodiazepines require “reparenting.”
In that podcast, he claimed, “Right now, every black child is being given a standard dose of Adderall, SSRIs, and benzos, which are known to induce violence.” He added that these children needed the chance to exist in settings devoid of screens.
During the hearing, Democrats repeatedly highlighted Kennedy’s lack of a medical degree, while Kennedy countered that many of his predecessors had similar backgrounds. Rep. Beth Van Duyne (R-Texas) ridiculed Sewell’s question, noting that her own predecessor as HHS secretary also had never raised a black child.
Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.) criticized Kennedy’s approach to public health messaging, specifically about vaccines. She quipped, “I can’t believe you canceled this pro-vaccine campaign and then opted to spend tax dollars to drink milk shirtless in a hot tub with Kid Rock. You think that’s a better health message?”
In another part of the hearing, Kennedy acknowledged that an unvaccinated 6-year-old who died from a measles outbreak in Texas might have survived had he been vaccinated.
Kennedy insisted, “We have done a better job of preventing measles than any other country in the world.”
This testimony is the first of several he will present before Congressional committees in the upcoming days, where Democrats focused their inquiries on vaccines, staffing choices, and health care cost reductions.
