WA Sen. Maria Cantwell slams RFK Jr. in heated hearing: ‘You’re a charlatan’
U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell lobbed a verbal grenade at the nation’s top health official on Sept. 4, blasting him as a “charlatan.”
The exchange between the Washington state Democrat and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. came during a Senate Finance Committee hearing on “The President’s 2026 Health Care Agenda.” Kennedy’s testimony arrives on the heels of multiple shakeups at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and amid new restrictions on access to the COVID-19 vaccine.
Cantwell condemned Kennedy, a vocal vaccine skeptic, for “not following science.” She noted his cancellation of nearly $500 million in funding for the development of mRNA vaccines used to combat viruses that cause illness such as COVID-19.
That research, she said, is needed to be prepared for the next influenza or pandemic.
“I’m happy to have a detailed discussion with you about it,” Kennedy said, cutting Cantwell off. “You are so wrong on your facts.”
“You’re interrupting me, and sir, you’re a charlatan,” Cantwell countered. “That’s what you are. You’re the ones who conflate chronic disease with the need for vaccines.”
The verbal volley comes a day after Washington announced the launch of a new West Coast Health Alliance, alongside California and Oregon, aimed at offering the region’s residents solid evidence-based recommendations about immunizations amid federal-level shifts.
Cantwell referenced the alliance’s formation, telling Kennedy that its three Democratic governors “will take up the efficacy of science” amid a dearth of federal-level vaccine support.
She also hammered Kennedy with questions about the highly publicized news conference on Sept. 3 featuring survivors of Jeffrey Epstein, the late disgraced financier and sex trafficker.
Alluding to a refrain from President Donald Trump, the senator asked: Did Kennedy think that those women were perpetuating a “hoax”?
“I have no idea what they were saying,” Kennedy said. “This is the first I’m hearing about.”
Cantwell appeared to have a hard time believing that.
“What I’m saying is you are perpetrating hoaxes,” she replied. “You as the secretary of health.”
Cantwell’s colleague, U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, has also been a vocal critic of Kennedy.
This story was originally published September 4, 2025 at 11:17 AM.
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