In response to Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s dishonest House testimony, where he lied about the Trump budget bill’s effects on Medicaid, DNC Chair Ken Martin released the following statement:

“As Donald Trump and Senate Republicans barrel forward with their overwhelmingly unpopular scheme to gut Medicaid, RFK Jr. went to Capitol Hill to do what he does best: tell incoherent and harmful lies. From firing the experts who approve vaccines, to releasing bogus AI-generated reports, to denying that Trump will rip health care away from millions of Americans — every time RFK Jr. opens his mouth, he reminds us that he is incapable of running our nation’s health care system. Medicaid is life or death for millions of Americans, and RFK Jr. just told those Americans he doesn’t give a damn about them.” 

NEW: Health and Human Services Secretary RFK Jr. repeatedly lied to members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee about his and Donald Trump’s disastrous budget bill, which will cut health care for 16 million Americans. 

Rep. Lori Trahan: “Your budget slashes Medicaid, which covers over 40% of kids, and eliminates programs that trains most pediatricians. Hospitals are already bracing. They’re pausing projects, they’re canceling expansions. … The chaos that your budget creates, including decimating NIH, is driving up costs.

RFK Jr.: “We’re not cutting Medicaid. There’s no cuts to Medicaid. There’s simply restrictions to the growth of Medicaid over the next decade.”

Rep. Trahan: “People are going to lose their coverage. … People are going to die. These hospitals are going to close. Labor and delivery units are going to disappear. … That’s the consequence of your policies.” 

Rep. Frank Pallone: “You have made a number of major decisions about vaccines. … You say you want transparency, but there’s been no public process for any of this.”

RFK Jr.: “We have a public process for regulating  vaccines, it’s called the ACIP committee. It’s a public meeting—”

Rep. Pallone: “You fired the committee.”

Rep. Raul Ruiz: “Did you read the report and fact-check its sources prior to publication?”

RFK Jr.: “All of the factcheck—”

Rep. Raul Ruiz: “Did you read the report and did you yourself fact check them, sir?”

RFK Jr.: “I did not fact check”

Senate Republicans released their portion of Trump’s billionaire-first budget bill, which includes massive cuts to Medicaid.

Axios: “Senate Finance Committee Republicans published their text of President Trump’s ‘one big, beautiful bill’ Monday evening, which includes major tax reforms and even steeper Medicaid cuts than the House called for.” 

Burgess Everett, Semafor: “New: The Senate will be MORE aggressive in seeking savings from Medicaid than the House reconciliation bill.”  

Politico: “The Senate Finance Committee’s newly released draft would incrementally lower the allowable provider tax in Medicaid expansion states starting in 2027 from the current 6 percent until it hits 3.5 percent in 2031. The dial-down would not apply to nursing or intermediate care facilities.

“That would be a huge departure from the House-passed bill, which would put a moratorium on states’ ability to raise their provider tax beyond the current 6 percent.” 

REMINDER: After spreading repeatedly debunked conspiracy theories, RFK Jr. fired all 17 members of the CDC vaccine panel and released a “MAHA report” with at least seven cited sources that don’t exist. 

Washington Post: “Some of the citations that underpin the science in the White House’s sweeping ‘MAHA Report’ appear to have been generated using artificial intelligence, resulting in numerous garbled scientific references and invented studies, AI experts said Thursday.”

NOTUS: “The MAHA Report Cites Studies That Don’t Exist”

“Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says his ‘Make America Healthy Again’ Commission report harnesses ‘gold-standard’ science, citing more than 500 studies and other sources to back up its claims. Those citations, though, are rife with errors, from broken links to misstated conclusions.

“Seven of the cited sources don’t appear to exist at all.”

New York Times: “Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the U.S. health secretary, on Monday fired all 17 members of the advisory committee on immunization to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, saying that the move would restore the public’s trust in vaccines. …

“The C.D.C.’s vaccine advisers wield enormous influence. They carefully review data on vaccines, debate the evidence and vote on who should get the shots and when. Insurance companies and government programs like Medicaid are required to cover the vaccines recommended by the panel. …

“Public health experts reacted strongly to Mr. Kennedy’s announcement, calling it an extreme and reckless decision.”

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