RFK Jr. Goes Full ‘All Lives Matter’ When Pressed By Rep. Summer Lee About Eliminating Black Maternal Health Research

At this point,  Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. must hate to see a Black congresswoman coming when it’s time for him to defend statements he has made about Black health, or his policies that appear to be aimed at ignoring racial disparities in healthcare.

Earlier this month, we reported that RFK was grilled by Rep. Terri Sewell (D-Ala.) during a House Ways and Means Committee hearing over remarks he made during a podcast interview, in which he suggested that “every Black kid” has been put on ADHD medication as a standard — despite the fact that, statistically, the opposite is true — and that they should be “re-parented” if their patents allowed those meds to be prescribed. RFK, of course, denied saying it, but see, the problem with podcasts is that they are recorded.

Anyway, last week, RFK was confronted by another Black congresswoman, Rep. Summer Lee (D-PA), over the Trump administration’s attacks on Black maternal health research, community-based maternal health programs, diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility initiatives in healthcare, and his statements about taking Black kids out of their homes based on racist nonsense he made up.

“This is ‘Black maternal health week,’ so I’ll start there,” Lee began. “Secretary Kennedy, I’m sure you’re aware that Black women are at least three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women. The vast majority of these deaths are preventable. Black women in my district are more likely to die during pregnancy than their peers in 97% of U.S. cities.” 

“Your written testimony mentioned maternity and child health four times, but, from what I have seen, the NIH canceled grants researching Black maternal health,” she continued, before questioning him about how the Trump administration’s 2027 budget proposes to eliminate programs like Healthy Start, which she described as “one of the federal government’s primary community-based maternal health programs.” Lee also grilled Kennedy about HHS making it a priority to end whatever it is that he considers DEI.

“If a medical school educates students about addressing the Black maternal mortality crisis, would you consider that an illegal DEI?” Lee asked Kennedy, to which he responded, “No.”

Last year, the Trump administration cut funding for Black infant health research, despite the data that shows infant mortality rates in the U.S. are disproportionately high among Black babies, and that Black and Latino babies are more vulnerable than their white counterparts to serious, life-threatening illnesses such as upper respiratory infection (URI). Later that same month, a federal judge ruled that the administration’s cuts to NIH funding were illegal after New York Attorney General Letitia James joined a coalition of 15 other attorneys general in suing the administration.

Lee told RFK — in a slightly sarcastic tone — that she was delighted to hear that he didn’t think research on Black maternal health disparities constituted illegal DEI, and urged him to urge the Trump administration to stop threatening to defund institutions that engage in such research.

Later, she moved on to the administration’s apparent fear of the very word “Black.”

“Your agency told programs to remove a list of nearly 200 words and phrases from their funding applications, including the word ‘Black,’” Lee pointed out to Kennedy during a House Committee on Education and Workforce hearing titled Examining the Policies and Priorities of the Department of Health and Human Services. “Do you have an idea of how we could solve the Black maternal mortality crisis if we can’t say ‘Black’?” 

RFK, predictably, didn’t answer Lee’s very straightforward question and decided to answer a different question that nobody asked.

“President Trump is trying to end division in this country. That’s what DEI did; it divided people. It polarized people,” he said.

First of all, just because white conservatives get irrationally offended whenever systemic racial disparities of any kind are brought up, and programs are implemented that are aimed at correcting those disparities, doesn’t mean the nation is being “divided” or “polarized.” It just means people in positions to effect change are prioritizing progress over white people’s fragile feelings.

But more to the point, RFK is engaging in racist gaslighting here. During his testimony, he acknowledged at multiple points that the disparities in Black maternal health are real, and he even answered “no” when asked if research dedicated to those disparities would be considered illegal DEI. So, why is he bringing up DEI when asked about why the word “Black” has been flagged on funding applications?

“Do you think the federal government should be paying for DEI,” Kennedy asked after Lee reiterated her concern that efforts were being made to eliminate research focused on Black health.

“I think the federal government has a vested interest in ensuring that citizens survive childbirth,” Lee responded, to which RFK replied by claiming, “We are meeting that obligation.”

“We are not,” Lee shot back.

Lee continued to press Kennedy about how his policies would specifically help Black patients, to which he responded by sidestepping the question and telling her about how his policies include “Blacks and whites.” 

So, he did all that gaslighting just to run with an “all lives matter” approach to explaining why his administration is the best administration to address the U.S. health crisis.

This is as good a time as any to remind people that RFK Jr. once argued that Black people don’t need white people’s vaccine schedule because we somehow have better immune systems, which, as I wrote at the time, is “a call back to classic white supremacist medical racism — the narrative that Black people are naturally more resilient and, therefore, less in need of proper care.”

It’s also as good a time as any to remind you that RFK, the nation’s top health authority, once told people flat-out that they should not take medical advice from him — and everything he has done in office since he was appointed has proven that to be his most honest statement to date.

SEE ALSO:

RFK Jr. Confronted Over Statement That Black Children Should Be ‘Re-Parented’ Because They’re All On ADHD Meds

RFK Jr Admits Link Between Tylenol And Autism Lacks Evidence