(Reuters) -U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will testify before the Senate HELP Committee in mid-May, Axios reported on Wednesday, citing an HHS spokesperson. Since taking the top job, Kennedy has slashed jobs in federal public health agencies, which has jeopardized public health programs, and raised concerns about the country’s readiness […]
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Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to testify before the Senate HELP in mid-May, Axios reports
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(Reuters) -U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will testify before the Senate HELP Committee in mid-May, Axios reported on Wednesday, citing an HHS spokesperson.
Since taking the top job, Kennedy has slashed jobs in federal public health agencies, which has jeopardized public health programs, and raised concerns about the country’s readiness to fight health threats such as the measles outbreak.
A U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee spokesperson said that they look forward to finalizing a date and noticing a hearing.
The secretary looks forward to appearing before six committees on the president’s budget in May, including the HELP committee in mid-May, an HHS spokesperson told Axios. The HHS did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Earlier this month, the HELP Committee had called Kennedy to testify on the reorganization of the department.
Kennedy will be testifying in mid-May, as he did not formally respond in time, and the hearing didn’t take place on that date, Axios said.
However, the HHS is framing it as part of the slate of hearings that customarily surround the release of the president’s budget proposal, according to the report.
(Reporting by Sriparna Roy in Bengaluru, additional reporting Janaki Venugopalan; Editing by Alan Barona)