Lawmakers Criticize Kennedy on HHS Budget Cuts

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. faced sharp criticism from lawmakers this week during congressional hearings on the Trump administration's proposed fiscal year 2027 budget, which calls for a 12.5 percent reduction in HHS spending, totaling about $15.8 billion less than current levels.

The budget, unveiled as part of President Donald Trump's broader spending plan, would allocate $111.1 billion to HHS, overseeing agencies like the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Food and Drug Administration. Major cuts target the NIH, with a $5 billion reduction that would shrink its funding to roughly $41 billion and consolidate its 27 institutes and centers into 22. The plan also eliminates the $4 billion Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program and merges several health offices into a new Administration for a Healthy America, projected to save $5 billion through streamlined operations.

Kennedy defended the reductions during testimony before committees including the Senate Health, Labor, and Pensions Committee and the House Energy and Commerce Committee. He highlighted what he described as excessive redundancies...