Nobody knows how many Americans died of Covid, RFK Jr tells fiery hearing
Kennedy is really getting into with with Democratic Senator Catherine Cortez.
"This is crazy talk!" he says when she starts talking about vaccines, and accuses her of "just making stuff up".
"Sometimes when you make an accusation, it's a confession Mr Kennedy," Cortez replies, to which RFK laughs.
"You're making things up to scare people and it's a lie," Kennedy says.
The tone is a familiar one, as Democratic lawmakers have clashed with RFK time and again in this hearing.
His questions from Republicans, apart from Senator Bill Cassidy, who is a doctor, have been far less combative.
Kennedy claims Trump budget bill will not affect Medicaid spending
Warner then pivots, asking how Americans can be healthy with potential cuts to Medicaid, the programme that offers health insurance to low-income and disabled Americans.
"There are no cuts to Medicaid," RFK responds.
"That is absurd," Warner says, continuing that he knows of rural hospitals which are going to close following the passage of Trump's budget bill earlier this year.
Kennedy and Trump claim the so-called "Big Beautiful Bill" will give more money to healthcare.
But the Congressional Budget Office estimates it will result in a gross reduction of $990 billion in federal Medicaid spending over 10 years, and will raise the number of uninsured Americans by 10 million, as explained in a Georgetown University report.
Senator Bill Cassidy, who is also a physician, is now questioning Kennedy. He says he is approaching the questioning as a doctor, not a politician.
The Republican says Trump deserved a Nobel Prize for overseeing Operation Warp Speed - the programme which oversaw the development of the Covid-19 vaccines in 2020, during Trump's first term.
Cassidy asks if Kennedy agrees with this assessment, and the secretary says he does agree, before Cassidy interrupts him to say that doesn't seem to be the case, because Cassidy argues Kennedy has attempted to restrict access to the Covid-19 vaccine.
The questioning turns tense as the two talk over each other.
"Is this a question... or is this a speech you don't want me to answer?" Kennedy responds.
Cassidy ends his questioning by sharing concerns from several of his constituents, including doctors and patients who say they are having trouble accessing Covid-19 booster shots because of conflicting recommendations from health agencies.
"Effectively, we are denying people vaccines," Cassidy says.
"You're wrong," Kennedy responds.
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