During a Senate committee hearing, Senator Angela Alsobrooks had a strange clash with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over the massive cuts he’s overseen at his agency, including to personnel.

“You made it very clear here today you have no knowledge whatsoever of the absolutely amazing scientists and researchers who you have callously fired,” said Alsobrooks.

“I didn’t fire any working scientists,” Kennedy said.

“That, sir, is not true either,” replied Alsobrooks.

“It is true,” repeated Kennedy

“It is not true,” Alsobrooks said, moving on.

He made the same claim when the Maryland senator later brought up a 30-year programme he axed at his agency, the Safe to Sleep campaign, along with all of its staff. He said it again to Senator Bill Cassidy, the chairman of the committee, at the start of the hearing.

“The cuts we have made to date are administrative cuts. As far as I know we have not fired any working scientists,” said Kennedy. “There are some people who were scientists that were doing IT or administration ... who did lose their jobs. But in terms of working scientists, our policy was to make sure none of them were lost and that that research continues.”

That sounds nice. But also it is not true. Kennedy has been firing hundreds, if not thousands, of scientists and researchers doing critical work at various agencies under HHS. It’s not even as if he’s been doing this in secret; it’s been widelyreported for months.

Under his direction, the National Institutes of Health, the world’s top........

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