Greene and Garcia clash over RFK Jr. during House hearing
In a heated exchange during a House Oversight Committee hearing, Rep. Majorie Taylor Greene, a Republican from Georgia, and Rep. Robert Garcia, a Democrat from California, clashed over the actions of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The confrontation began when Garcia accused RFK Jr. of being a “tinfoil hat conspiracy theorist,” to which Greene responded by calling Garcia ignorant.
The discussion centered around RFK Jr.’s role in causing a measles outbreak in another country, which Garcia attributed to the HHS Secretary’s anti-vax conspiracy theories. Greene vehemently denied this accusation, stating that RFK Jr. did not cause the outbreak and calling Garcia ignorant for suggesting otherwise.
The debate escalated when Garcia labeled Greene as the “No. 1 anti-vax conspiracy theorist in Congress,” to which Greene defended herself by claiming to be in favor of choice and parental decision-making. She went on to controversially state that vaccines kill people, further fueling the disagreement between the two lawmakers.
RFK Jr. recently made a stop in Texas to promote the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine in response to rising measles cases. However, Hawaii Sen. Brian Schatz criticized RFK Jr., stating that his actions in Samoa had led to a decrease in vaccination rates and ultimately caused a measles outbreak that resulted in numerous deaths.
The contentious debate between Greene and Garcia highlights the ongoing controversy surrounding vaccination and public health policies. As lawmakers continue to grapple with restoring trust in the FDA and promoting vaccine uptake, disagreements like this one underscore the challenges in finding common ground on these critical issues.
