Republican Criticizes RFK Jr. Over Autism Announcement, Says Wife Was Hurt
Utah Representative Blake Moore on Thursday criticized Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., saying Kennedy fell short of his pledge to identify the causes of autism during testimony before the House Ways and Means Committee.
Moore, whose son is on the autism spectrum, said he was dissatisfied with the conclusions presented following Kennedy's and President Donald Trump's September statement suggesting a link between autism and pregnant women's use of Tylenol.
"I was underwhelmed with what we ultimately put out," the Utah Republican said. “My wife was hurt. We don’t even know if she took Tylenol during her pregnancy, but that was a hurtful moment for her. And I just want to encourage the administration and your team to keep at it.”
Newsweek has reached out to HHS via email on Thursday night for comment.
Budget Cuts and "Make America Healthy Again" Pitch
Kennedy used the hearing to frame the Trump administration's health agenda as a pivot away from what he called decades of failure on chronic disease, telling lawmakers: "We're ending the era of federal policies that fueled the chronic disease epidemic and replacing them with policies that put the health of Americans first."
That message came as he defended a proposed reduction to HHS funding. When Democrats pressed him on how cuts could undercut nutrition and prevention efforts, Kennedy conceded the politics - and the pain - of it: "Am I happy about the cuts? No, I'm not happy about the cuts."
He also sought to spread responsibility for the reductions across the administration's budget team, telling lawmakers: "Nobody wants to make the cuts. Russ Vought doesn't want to make the cuts. President Trump doesn't," before adding, "But we got a $39 trillion debt."
Republicans largely treated the hearing as an opportunity to amplify Kennedy's prevention-first approach. In a statement after the hearing, Ways and Means Health Subcommittee Chair Vern Buchanan praised Kennedy's "leadership," saying, "The U.S. is spending $5.3 trillion on health care and getting sicker as a nation," and arguing, "We must prioritize prevention as the key to reversing trends in heart disease, obesity and diabetes.“
Food and Nutrition Flashpoints, Including "Froot Loops"
Kennedy's emphasis on diet repeatedly spilled into headline-ready exchanges. Democrats argued that even if the administration wants Americans to eat healthier, many families can't afford it - particularly if nutrition assistance is reduced. Kennedy's comments about processed foods became part of that debate when Representative Gwen Moore pointed back to language he used earlier in the hearing.
Moore noted that "Froot Loops" is "a lot cheaper than good, healthy food," after referencing Kennedy's criticism of the cereal. She said Kennedy had described it in stark terms: it "isn't even a food. It's just poison."
The exchange captured a recurring tension Democrats tried to drive home: Kennedy's call for a nutrition overhaul colliding with budget proposals that, in their view, would make it harder for low-income families to act on the administration's advice.
Messaging and Public Health Priorities Under Scrutiny
Democrats also used the hearing to challenge what they described as the administration's reorientation of public health communications-questioning why certain government campaigns were curtailed while Kennedy and his allies elevated personality-driven messaging. That criticism was tied to broader disputes over what the department should prioritize during a year of vaccine-preventable disease outbreaks and contentious changes to public health guidance.
Kennedy's approach throughout was to keep returning to chronic disease and prevention as the organizing frame for his tenure - "put the health of Americans first," he said - while insisting that critics were ignoring the administration's argument that the country's biggest long-term health burdens stem from diet and lifestyle-related illness.
As the hearing closed, the basic split remained: Republicans cast Kennedy as an overdue disruptor of the health bureaucracy, while Democrats framed the budget and communications changes as evidence of misaligned priorities. Kennedy, facing more hearings in the days ahead, signaled he intends to keep leaning on the same defense - that the administration is pushing what it calls prevention and reform even as lawmakers fight over the tradeoffs.
Reporting by the Associated Press contributed to this article.
Newsweek's reporters and editors used Martyn, our Al assistant, to help produce this story. Learn more about Martyn.
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This story was originally published April 16, 2026 at 6:59 PM.