Overview

• Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testified before the Senate Appropriations Committee to defend the administration's proposed 2026 budget, which includes a 26% cut to HHS discretionary funding.
• The budget would slash nearly $18 billion from the National Institutes of Health and eliminate funding for programs like the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program and key CDC initiatives.
• Kennedy faced heated exchanges with lawmakers, including accusations from Sen. Patty Murray that the cuts are devastating to public health and that Kennedy is enacting budget reductions Congress has not approved.
• Senators from both parties raised concerns about the potential setbacks to biomedical research, with Sen. Tammy Baldwin warning the NIH cuts could delay medical innovations by decades.
• Kennedy defended the cuts as necessary to streamline operations and reduce waste, but his department's workforce reduction from 82,000 to 62,000 employees and withholding of funds for grants and programs drew sharp criticism.