Amna Nawaz
Amna Nawaz
@PBSNewsHour·5.3M subscribers·62.2K videos

WATCH: Sen. Bennet asks RFK if he still believes flu vaccine ‘is destroying children’s brains’

Posted

April 22, 2026

Views

1,928

Likes

183

Engagement

9.49%

Search the Record

Indexed

Every word spoken in this episode is indexed. Type any phrase to jump straight to the moment it was said.

Type any word or phrase that may have been spoken. Click a result to seek the player to that exact moment.

Try a name, a topic, or a quoted line

YouTube Description

as posted by the channel

Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., questioned Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. about his stance on flu vaccines on Wednesday in a hearing on President Donald Trump’s 2027 budget request.

Asked about his stance on vaccination for flu, Kennedy said he approves of “lots of vaccines,” spending “a billion dollars developing new vaccines, including a universal flu vaccine.”

“I assume that you no longer believe that the flu vaccine is destroying children’s brains, that there’s zero evidence that the flu vaccine prevents any hospitalization or any deaths, because today you’re here agreeing that the vast majority of kids that died from the flu were people without vaccines,” Bennet said.

“We’re making sure that we follow the science, Senator,” Kennedy replied.

Kennedy appeared before the Senate Committee on Finance.

Kennedy was expected to face questioning about his controversial changes to vaccine policy, as well as new dietary guidelines and proposed Medicaid cuts. Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy, a physician, committee member and influential chair of the Senate Health Committee, will have opportunities in two hearings Wednesday to press Kennedy, whose approach to vaccines he’s criticized in the past.

Sign up for Here's The Deal with Lisa Desjardins

Subscribe for exclusive content in our newsletters

PBS News podcasts

Stream your PBS favorites with the PBS app

Find more from PBS News at

Subscribe to our YouTube channel

Guests & Subjects Covered

WATCHSen Michael Bennet D-ColoPresident Donald TrumpsSenator KennedySenate CommitteeFinance KennedyRepublican Sen Bill CassidySenate Health Committee

Sentinel Indexing in Progress

Metadata and chapters are available. Claim extraction for this episode is pending.

All video content is delivered via YouTube embedded players in accordance with the YouTube Terms of Service. Sentinel provides research tools that promote discovery and accountability across political media.

WATCH: Sen. Bennet asks RFK if he still believes flu vaccine ‘is destroying children’s brains’ · Amna Nawaz · Sentinel