A tense back-and-forth took place between Colorado Senator Michael Bennet and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at the Senate Finance Committee hearing. Bennet went straight at Kennedy about the year’s shocking number of child flu deaths. However, Kennedy said that he didn’t know the main statistic everyone expected him to know. Notably, Kennedy runs the agencies in charge of tracking and sharing that data.
The hearing was just one stop in Kennedy’s week of committee appearances. He had been making the rounds on Capitol Hill, defending the administration’s 2027 budget request and his first year running HHS. After journalist Aaron Rupar posted the video on X, the clip went viral, and most viewers zeroed in on the exchange about flu shots and kids dying from the flu.
In the hearing, Colorado Sen. cited CDC data: the 2024–25 flu season saw 280 kids die from the flu, the highest for any year that wasn’t a pandemic since the CDC started keeping track. Out of 208 kids old enough for the vaccine, 89% weren’t fully vaccinated.
“Do you agree that 89% of children who died from flu were unvaccinated?” Bennet asked.
“I don’t know the exact number,” Kennedy answered.
“That is the exact number,” Bennet shot back.
After a heavy, awkward pause, Bennet pressed him on another point: HHS had pulled campaigns promoting the flu shot, including the well-known “Wild to Mild” campaign, after Kennedy took office. Bennet wanted to know – did Kennedy regret that move?
Kennedy, however, defended his actions.
But Bennet didn’t let up. He told Kennedy his appearance before the committee was basically an admission: most kids who died from the flu last season were unvaccinated, a fact that clashes with years of Kennedy’s public statements on vaccines.
Internet Reacts As Colorado Senator Catches RFK Jr. Off Guard With His Own Agency’s Data
Much of the online response treated the exchange less as a political flashpoint and more as a credibility problem. Some viewers focused on the absurdity of the situation itself. “Beyond satire that he is the head of HHS. This is ridiculous,” one person wrote, while another added, “Trump’s entire cabinet is a freak show. Kennedy is clearly on something or experiencing some sort of medical episode.”
Others questioned Kennedy’s basic fitness for the role. “Why do we entrust the nation’s healthcare policy to a guy with no medical degree who spent over a decade addicted to heroin and claims he was afflicted by a brain worm?” one comment read. A similar sentiment surfaced nearby: “How much more convincing do we really need that this guy is just barking mad? In the meantime, there are kids at risk.”
Some comments turned toward process and decision-making more broadly. “Why do so many political leaders make massive decisions based on vibes?” a user wrote. And not everyone was focused on the policy itself, “The best thing about RFK Jr.’s televised testimonies is his bodyguard,” one person noted.
Kennedy made a name for himself by questioning vaccines, and since he stepped into the job in early 2025, he has faced criticism from public health experts who say he hasn’t strongly promoted vaccination. Instead, he has focused on unproven treatments during outbreaks.
Under his leadership, the CDC moved several vaccines, including the flu shot and others for kids, out of universal recommendations, leaving them up to “shared clinical decision-making” between doctors and families, especially for lower-risk kids. And right now, the agency has also gone through leadership changes. With nobody steady at the helm, the agency might be struggling to shape critical health policies.
