HHS secretary proposes wide reorganization and budget cuts in FY2026 plan, prompting sharp questions from committee

Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, told the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health that his fiscal year 2026 budget would shrink bureaucracy and reorient HHS toward prevention, chronic-disease reduction and ‘‘making America healthy again.’'

Kennedy said the administration would ‘‘shift funding away from bureaucracy toward direct impact’’ and consolidate overlapping offices across HHS as part of a transformation intended to cut waste and reduce federal spending on health programs. ‘‘We will shift funding away from bureaucracy toward direct impact,’’ he said in his opening statement.

The plan Kennedy outlined would include program consolidations and staffing reductions across the department. He described eliminating what he called ‘‘redundancies’’—for example, multiple offices for women’s health and minority health, numerous procurement and human resources units, and duplicate opioid and maternal-health programs—and said the department had already issued reductions in force (RIFs. He told the committee some RIFs are on hold because of ongoing litigation and a court injunction.

Representative Buddy Carter, chair of the subcommittee, and Representative Brett Guthrie, chair of the full committee, framed the proposals in fiscal terms and pressed for details about efficiencies. ‘‘If this administration has ideas on how to more effectively and efficiently deliver on the missions Congress has directed HHS to undertake, it is our duty to thoughtfully examine them,’’ Guthrie said in his opening statement.

Democrats on the panel challenged the scale and pace of the cuts. Representative Diana DeGette and Representative Frank Pallone, the ranking member of the full committee, warned the proposed cuts to NIH, CDC and FDA would undermine medical research, public-health programs and services for vulnerable populations. ‘‘This budget seeks to cut the NIH by 40%,’’ DeGette said during her opening statement—an assertion reflecting the committee debate over deep reductions described in Kennedy’s budget narrative. Pallone said the proposed reorganization and staff reductions had already created ‘‘chaos’’ and that critical programs were disrupted.

Kennedy told the panel he approved the RIF policy and defended the decisions as steps to return HHS staffing and structure to pre‑recent increases: ‘‘We had 9 separate offices for women's health… 8 separate offices for minority health… 41 chief information officers,’’ he said, arguing consolidation would reduce administrative overhead and restore mission focus. At the same time he acknowledged gaps surfaced after the RIFs and said he had brought some employees back to maintain operations, citing, for example, 722 people returned to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and 220 to the National Institutes of Health.

Several members asked about transparency and the department’s responsiveness to congressional requests. Pallone and other Democrats pressed Kennedy for a timetable to answer written inquiries they said had gone unanswered. Kennedy said the department was responding but declined to commit to specific dates for all outstanding letters.

The hearing also addressed legal limits on the department’s personnel actions: Kennedy and members cited ongoing litigation that has limited the administration’s ability to implement some RIFs. Democrats pointed to a June court decision vacating many NIH grant terminations (see related article) as an example of judicial pushback.

Outlook: The proposed changes are set to be negotiated with the Appropriations process and could be modified by Congress. Committee members from both parties said they were prepared to continue oversight; several pressed for follow-up hearings and written documentation. Kennedy said he intends to work with Congress to implement his reforms.

Ending: The hearing closed with the chair reminding members they may submit written questions for the record. Members indicated they planned further oversight and follow-up on HHS operations, staffing changes and the budget implications for federal programs.