Ever watch a politician try to land a punch, only to stumble over their own basic facts? One Senator’s attempt to grill a Cabinet Secretary went spectacularly off-script.

Washington D.C. can often feel like a theater where the actors sometimes forget their lines, or worse, the plot of the play they’re supposed to be in. It makes you wonder if they hand out scripts or just vague suggestions before these big hearings.

You’d think, with all the taxpayer money funding their staffs and their fancy water pitchers, our elected officials would at least do their homework. But then again, sometimes it seems the main assignment is less about understanding the subject matter and more about landing a zinger for the evening news – even if that zinger ends up boomeranging right back at them.

Cue the “Gotcha” Question… Or Was It?

Speaking of boomerangs, a recent hearing featuring Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. provided a rather illuminating example. Senator Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD) apparently thought she had a clever little trap set for the Secretary, questioning him about a specific division within his sprawling department. It was all going according to the usual script, until it wasn’t.

When Kennedy sought clarification, asking if the “assistive reproductive technology” division was part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Alsobrooks confidently corrected him. “No, it’s actually part of your agency,” she stated. Kennedy, to his credit, pointed out the rather obvious: “NIH is part of my agency. Senator, you should know that.” One might expect a bit of sheepish backtracking, but oh no. The Senator then seemed to suggest the division was under the CDC, leading to this rather remarkable exchange, as reported by The Daily Wire:

From ‘The Daily Wire’:

“NIH is part of my agency,” RFK shot back. “Senator, you should know that.”

“I do know that,” the senator suggested. “It’s actually, the CDC is where is it.”

Astonishingly, Alsobrooks then told RFK that he was “unfamiliar with the programs” in his department.

“ You’re unfamiliar with my agency,” a fiery Kennedy reacted. “The NIH and the CDC are part of HHS.”

This sums up today for you.

RFK Jr was supposed to be answering questions about his 2026 proposed budget. Instead, he was giving Congress a lesson on his agency.

Kennedy: “Is it part of NIH?”

Senator: “No, it’s actually part of your agency.”

Kennedy: “NIH is part of my… pic.twitter.com/8sT6IzX8o9

— Anna Matson (@AnnaRMatson) May 14, 2025

Well, that escalated, or rather, de-escalated for the Senator’s credibility pretty quickly. It’s one thing to try and score points; it’s another to be schooled on the basic structure of the department you’re grilling its leader about.

Secretary Kennedy Lays Bare the Beltway Bloat

But the fireworks didn’t stop with that particular faceplant. Secretary Kennedy, clearly not in the mood to suffer fools gladly, went on to describe the monumental mess he inherited at HHS. He painted a picture of “absolute cataclysmic disorganization,” something many conservatives have long suspected is par for the course in these massive federal agencies.

Can you believe it? Kennedy explained, “We had nine separate offices of women’s health… We had eight separate offices for minority health, we eliminated one. We had 27 HIV offices, we had 59 behavioral health programs.” Fifty-nine behavioral health programs! It sounds less like a department and more like a bureaucratic labyrinth designed by a committee that never met. Kennedy’s efforts to consolidate these aren’t about cutting services, as some Democrats predictably wailed, but about bringing a shred of common-sense fiscal responsibility to an agency drowning in redundancy. It’s about ensuring taxpayer dollars are actually helping people, not just funding endless layers of management.

The Cherry on Top of a Surreal Hearing

And just when you thought the hearing couldn’t get more… Washington, enter the protesters. Because what’s a congressional hearing these days without a bit of performative outrage from the gallery? Among those arrested for screaming and interrupting Kennedy’s opening statement was none other than Ben & Jerry’s co-founder, Ben Cohen.

Yes, the ice cream mogul himself, apparently so moved by the intricacies of the HHS budget, felt the need to get himself hauled out by Capitol Police. It’s moments like these that truly underscore the disconnect between the concerns of everyday Americans and the theatrical activism of a certain segment of the liberal elite. One can only imagine the flavor they’d invent for this occasion – “Bureaucratic Berry Swirl,” perhaps?

This whole episode serves as a rather potent reminder. When politicians prioritize partisan potshots over preparedness, they don’t just embarrass themselves; they insult the intelligence of the American people. And when they defend bloated, inefficient systems, they show a stunning disregard for the taxpayer money entrusted to them. Thankfully, it seems Secretary Kennedy is at least trying to bring some order to the chaos, one consolidated office at a time.

Key Takeaways:

• Democrat Senators should know basic government facts before public grandstanding.
• Secretary Kennedy is tackling massive HHS bloat, a win for fiscal conservatism.
• Liberal activist theatrics often distract from substantive policy discussions.

Sources: Daily Wire