RFK Jr.’s unusually loud breathing during a recent appearance at a Senate committee is making rounds online. The moment quickly went viral after Kennedy’s mic captured the sound. It added a diverting background noise during crucial exchanges at the hearing.
RFK Jr.’s breathing noise caught on mic goes viral
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appeared to struggle breathing during his Senate Finance Committee testimony on Wednesday. The Health and Human Services Secretary’s loud, unusual breathing noises were captured on mic as he faced pressing questions from lawmakers.
At one point during the hearing, Idaho Senator Mike Crapo addressed Kennedy, saying, “In that context, in your testimony, you identified nutrition as a bedrock of health and one of the primary levers for treating and preventing chronic disease.”
As Crapo continued speaking, Kennedy’s distinctive breathing was starkly prominent in the background. However, the U.S. Senator seemed unfazed by the sound and continued, “How does HHS plan to build on this progress by securing additional commitments from medical schools and expanding nutrition education into other key areas such as residency training, medical licensing, and continuing medical education?”
In response, Kennedy stated, “We’re expanding the number of medical schools. There’s already many many others that have signed on since the original 54.” He added, “We’ve now issued notices to all the hospitals in America that they must start serving nutritious foods in the hospitals.”
RFK Jr.’s breathing issue has made the news in the past. It has been diagnosed as a rare neurological condition known as spasmodic dysphonia. Speaking with HuffPost, speech pathologist Gwen Merrick explained the condition, saying, “The vocal folds have a small muscle as one of the layers of the vocal fold. That muscle… goes into spasm, which interrupts the flow of the voice.”
In 2024, Kennedy opened up about his gravelly voice in an interview with The Los Angeles Times. “My voice doesn’t really get tired,” he shared. “It just sounds terrible. But the injury is neurological, so actually the more I use the voice, the stronger it tends to get.”
Originally reported by Namrata Ghosh on Mandatory.
