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MaddowBlog-RFK Jr. tries and fails to defend cuts to NIH research and preschool programs
The HHS secretary tried to defend NIH cuts by pointing to the national debt. The closer one looked at his pitch, however, the worse it appeared.
On the one hand, the White House budget wants to increase defense spending by roughly a half-trillion dollars, while ignoring deficit reduction.
— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2026-04-22T20:27:18.001Z
On the other, RFK Jr defended “painful†NIH cuts — by pointing to the national debt.
The closer one looks, the dumber it appears.
https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/rfk-jr-nih-preschool-cuts-hearings-capitol-hill
Also on Tuesday, Democratic Sen. Patty Murray of Washington pressed Kennedy on budget issues, noting the White House proposed slashing funding for preschool programs by $315 million.
“We’re asking about this because we have a $39 trillion debt that somebody else ran up, not this president,” Kennedy replied.
At this point, it’s tempting to try to explain to Kennedy that Trump added nearly $8 trillion to the national debt during his first term, and he added an additional $1.8 trillion during the first year of his second term. For the HHS secretary to suggest “somebody else” ran up the debt was obviously foolish......
In other words, Trump, Kennedy and their colleagues don’t have to slash investments in priorities such as medical research and preschool programs — funding totals that would represent a tiny fraction of the $1.5 trillion the administration wants to spend on the military — in order to address the national debt. They’re choosing to do so, as part of a budget that makes no meaningful effort to address the national debt at all.
Kennedy should’ve known this before showing up on Capitol Hill for budget hearings. The fact that he displayed such ignorance anyway spoke volumes.
“We’re asking about this because we have a $39 trillion debt that somebody else ran up, not this president,” Kennedy replied.
PATTY MURRAY: What happened to childcare in this budget?
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2026-04-21T19:33:17.116Z
RFK Jr: Ok, let's talk about childcare then instead of the war
MURRAY: Just so it's clear, the president is requesting .5t in defense which cuts our non-defense incredibly
RFK Jr: It's not my department
At this point, it’s tempting to try to explain to Kennedy that Trump added nearly $8 trillion to the national debt during his first term, and he added an additional $1.8 trillion during the first year of his second term. For the HHS secretary to suggest “somebody else” ran up the debt was obviously foolish......
In other words, Trump, Kennedy and their colleagues don’t have to slash investments in priorities such as medical research and preschool programs — funding totals that would represent a tiny fraction of the $1.5 trillion the administration wants to spend on the military — in order to address the national debt. They’re choosing to do so, as part of a budget that makes no meaningful effort to address the national debt at all.
Kennedy should’ve known this before showing up on Capitol Hill for budget hearings. The fact that he displayed such ignorance anyway spoke volumes.