The seas were high and the sailing rough for Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr on Capitol Hill yesterday, September 4. In the part of Congress that is supposed to have some decorum, RFK Jr endured a four-hour beating from Senate Democrats. However, Mr. Kennedy appeared ready for the incoming and managed to throw a few punches across the bow during what can only be termed a contentious hearing.

To the television viewer, it felt as if the senators forgot that they had microphones in front of them. One after another, the loyal opposition shouted at RFK Jr – denigrating his brief tenure at HHS, repeatedly calling him names. The son of the famed slain senator was called a charlatan, a liar, and ignorant.

As the controversial HHS secretary was reading his opening statement, a spectator in a wheelchair had to be removed from the hearing room as she was shouting: “Mr. Kennedy you are killing millions of people.”  Here is a brief excerpt from yesterday’s raucous hearing with verbal brawling the likes of which hasn’t been seen in the Senate since the Brett Kavanaugh Supreme Court Justice nomination hearings:

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR): “This is about kids being pushed in harm’s way by reckless and repeated decisions to get scientists and doctors out of the way.”

RFK Jr: “Senator, you’ve sat in that chair for how long, 20 to 25 years, while the chronic disease in our children went up to 76% and you said nothing.”

The air was thick with emotion in one exchange after another, as evident by this next verbal volley:

Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH): “You are citing data that you won’t produce to the public and objecting.”

RFK Jr: “You’re making things up to scare people.”

Hassan: “Sir, you’re a charlatan. That’s what you are.”

Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts tangled with RFK Jr over his policy on COVID vaccines, claiming Kennedy was taking them away. But the HHS secretary countered that “Everybody can get it.” As well, Virginia’s senior senator peppered Kennedy with questions but would barely allow him to answer:

Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA): “You’re the Secretary of Health and Human Services and you don’t have any idea how many Americans died from COVID?”

RFK Jr: “I don’t think anybody knows because there was so much data chaos coming out of the CDC.”

Warner: “You’re the Secretary of Health and Human Services and you don’t know how many people died? How can you be that ignorant?”

However, RFK Jr refused to back down despite a plethora of withering criticisms and managed to land a few punches. Here’s his exchange with a Democrat from Colorado:

Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO): “What I said was accurate. What you said were lies.”

RFK Jr: “Senator, are you saying that the MRNA vaccine has never been associated with myocarditis or pericarditis in teenagers? Is that what you’re trying to tell us?”

Bennet: “I am simply trying to say that the people you have put on that panel after firing the entire …”

RFK Jr: “You’re evading the question.”

Bennet: “No, I’m asking the questions here.”

RFK Jr: “You’re evading that question.”

After shouting him down multiple times, it rapidly became clear that these same liberal lawmakers weren’t interested in what the new HHS secretary had to say. For sure, Democrats are not on board with the MAHA movement. Since teaming up with President Trump, Mr. Kennedy has ushered in a new era that addresses America’s health problems with a more organic approach. This paradigm shift has caused great unease among progressives, and, if anything, their hatred for the slain senator’s son has become even more vitriolic.

Such as it is, reforming the country’s healthcare agenda is a heavy lift, and waters are likely to remain choppy for some time. However, the Kennedys are well known for their sailing prowess. At this point, RFK Jr appears to be a man on a mission who does not seem terribly troubled by the animosity the left has heaped upon him. The quote he chose to use in his speech before the Senate hearing yesterday subtly signals that he knows why he’s up against and does not fear it: “As my father once said, ‘Progress is a nice word, but change is its motivator. And change has its enemies.’”

“That’s why we need new blood at CDC.”