Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appeared before a congressional panel on Wednesday in an often tense hearing that covered a variety of his past stances and current policies. One particularly heated moment came when RFK was confronted over a statement he made about Black children being “reparented,” leading to the Trump cabinet member apologizing for the comment and denying that he said it.
Kennedy denies recorded comment about wanting ‘Black kids’ on medication to be ‘reparented’
Kennedy appeared before the Senate Finance Committee, part of a week of hearings in which he was grilled by members of both parties over issues ranging from prescription drug prices to his controversial stances on vaccines. Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, D-Md., confronted Kennedy concerning a comment he made on the High Level Conversations podcast in 2024 in which he expressed his opinion about sending children to “wellness farms” to be “reparented,” focusing specifically on “every Black kid” who has been prescribed medication such as Adderall. The “reparented” comment by Kennedy had been previously raised on April 16 by Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Ala., when Kennedy appeared in front of the House Ways and Means Committee.
Kennedy was defensive during his House appearance, saying that he didn’t remember saying it, and he gave similar denials to Alsobrooks. After the senator quoted Kennedy’s comment, he said, “I would have to see, hear that recording, because I have no memory of saying that,” while also proclaiming, “I do not believe that every Black kid should be reparented on a wellness farm or whatever, and I have never believed that.”
With Alsobrooks chastising him for the comment, which she described as “ignorant to say, it was dangerous, and it was irresponsible,” Kennedy hedged on taking responsibility. “Well, if I said it, I apologize, but I’d have to see the transcript.”
RFK Jr.’s history of racial comments and bad science
During the hearing, Alsobrooks noted that Kennedy’s remarks were on video, and the clip was soon posted on social media. In it, Kennedy reflects on his uncle, President John F. Kennedy, starting the Peace Corp. Kennedy then declares, “My Peace Corps program is going to be, um, wellness farms, rehabilitation facilities that I’m going to start in rural areas all over the country, where people, any American can go for free, any of them who is dependent on drugs, either legal drugs or illegal drugs.” Kennedy then specifically references “psychiatric drugs which every Black kid is now just standard put on: Adderall, SSRIs, benzos, which are known to induce violence. And those kids are going to have a chance to go somewhere and get reparented, to live in a community where there will be no cellphones, no screens, you’ll actually have to talk to people.”
These remarks by Kennedy are among a long list of scientifically questionable, and sometimes racially charged, remarks and policy positions that he has taken. As The Hill noted, Kennedy previously suggested that COVID-19 could be an example of “ethnically targeted microbes” made by China to target certain racial and ethnic groups while sparing others; Kennedy attempted to explain away that comment, which was recorded. During Kennedy’s January 2025 confirmation hearing, Alsobrooks confronted him for comments he had made stating that Black people had stronger immune systems than white people and suggesting that Black children, therefore, have different vaccination schedules than non-Black children. Alsobrooks referred to Kennedy’s statement as “dangerous,” and one of the researchers who authored the study referenced in the hearing said that the data didn’t support Kennedy’s stance. Kennedy’s views, including hostility toward vaccines, have been called out by medical experts and members of both political parties as dangerous and not supported by science. Alsobrooks has repeatedly opposed the secretary and called on him to resign. During Wednesday’s hearings, one of her colleagues, Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., echoed those calls.
“I think you’re dangerous to the American public, and you ought to be fired, and if you’re not fired, you ought to have the decency to resign,” Warnock told Kennedy on Wednesday.
Kennedy has frequently rejected criticisms of his past comments and current policy stances while pushing a public health agenda that experts and members of both political parties have condemned as unscientific and harmful. Even when directly confronted, Kennedy seems determined to push a radical health agenda while refusing to take accountability for racist remarks or dangerous policies.