from the unhealthy-debate dept
I’d like to say that it feels just like the period of RFK Jr. as HHS Secretary is beginning to come to an finish, however that will be optimistic within the excessive. Nonetheless, I believe we’re beginning to see the sides fray a bit and it’s no shock as to why. Kennedy has overseen finances, grant, and staffing cuts at HHS within the midst of a measles outbreak that’s threatening America’s elimination standing for the illness, has prattled on about having the source of autism recognized by late summer season and fixing America’s chemtrail drawback, and managed to doc himself on social media spending his downtime taking his grandchildren to bodysurf in a stream of sewage.
Within the days following the shitwater incident, Kennedy has appeared a number of occasions earlier than Congress. Notably, he knowledgeable Congress final week, all whereas being incapable of advocating for vaccination in opposition to all types of illnesses together with measles, that no one must be taking medical advice from him. It’s an fascinating place to take because the particular person in command of America’s healthcare system, frankly, however factors to Home Slytherin for being appropriate, I suppose.
However it’s additionally a wierd stance to take solely to then flip round and berate a sitting senior Senator for not fixing all of America’s healthcare issues in reply to a query concerning the latest finances cuts at HHS.
Secretary of Well being and Human Companies Robert F. Kennedy Jr. began an indignant rant throughout a listening to Tuesday, prompting a Republican senator to induce him to “maintain again.”
Kennedy’s outburst got here after Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) slammed drastic staffing and funding cuts at his division, and requested whose choice it was to withhold sure childcare and development funds.
Kennedy started by criticizing former President Joe Biden’s administration, and when Murray tried to get him again on observe, he snapped again: “You recognize what, you’ve made an accusation and I’m going to reply it.”
He bought to the reply to Senator Murray’s precise query after being admonished by Republican Senator Shelley Moore Capito to calm the hell down and reply Senator Murray’s query. Right here’s how the entire thing went down.
This, I’d argue, is the conduct of a person feeling the stress. Whether or not any of that stress is being generated internally from the administration is, sadly, an open query, however Kennedy is clearly rattled. When the query was initially posed, previous to Kennedy’s accusations a couple of single Senator being guilty for continual illness and no matter else in America’s healthcare system, Kennedy launched right into a screed about what the Biden administration did or didn’t do for healthcare. As a reminder, the query posed was who ordered the finances and staffing cuts at HHS. The non-answer pivot to speaking about Biden as an alternative is a well-recognized playbook to anybody who has watched the Trump administration function.
In different phrases, it appears Kennedy actually is all MAGA now, if there was any query of that beforehand.
And, might wonders by no means stop, it appears the issues concerning the HHS cuts are bipartisan.
Capito herself addressed latest cuts at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, which oversees office security, saying: “I help the President’s imaginative and prescient to right-size our authorities, however as you and I’ve mentioned, I don’t assume eliminating NIOSH packages will accomplish that aim.”
Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) stated that chopping mining analysis packages hosted by NIOSH, “undermines our capability to fulfill nationwide safety objectives tied to mineral independence and provide chain resilience.”
It will be charitable at this level to recommend that the person is solely unwell. The rest is a comment purely on his competance. Both approach, this isn’t the particular person to steer HHS.
Filed Below: health and human services, hhs, niosh, patty murray, rfk jr., shelley moore capito
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