A tense argument unfolded between RFK Jr. and Congresswoman Terri Sewell after she questioned him regarding his previous comments about Black children. The HHS Secretary clashed with Sewell over the controversial remark at a recent budget hearing.
RFK Jr. lashes out at Democrat lawmaker Terri Sewell
During a budget hearing on Thursday, RFK Jr. engaged in a heated verbal spar with Congresswoman Terri Sewell. He lashed out at Sewell after she confronted him about his previous comments about Black children.
“Mr. Secretary, you’ve already admitted that you are not a board-certified physician, and you’ve already admitted you did not go to medical school. Have you ever reparented or parented, I should say, a Black child?” Sewell asked the Health and Human Services Secretary.
The U.S. Rep was referring to Kennedy’s comment in a 2024 appearance on the Earn Your Leisure podcast. He alleged that all Black children need to be “reparented” because they are overmedicated.
“Rehabilitation facilities that I’m going to start in rural areas all over the country — where any American can go for free, anyone who is dependent on drugs, either legal drugs or illegal drugs, psychiatric drugs — which every Black kid is now just standardly put on Adderall, SSRIs, benzos, which are known to induce violence,” RFK Jr. said at the time.
He added, “And those kids are going to have a chance to go somewhere and get reparented — to live in a community where there’ll be no cellphones, no screens. You’ll actually have to talk to people.”
In response to Sewell’s question on Thursday, Kennedy denied ever saying “reparented,” stating that he doesn’t know what the phrase means. Sewell asserted, “You absolutely said it,” leading to a heated back-and-forth between the two. Kennedy refused to answer the question and accused Sewell of “making up” the comments.
“I am absolutely not making this up. Mr. Secretary, in your opinion, what factors should the federal government consider when reparenting a Black child who has been on ADHD or ADD [medication]? That’s rhetorical, sir,” Sewell said.
Speaking with Fox News Digital, an HHS spokesperson said that Kennedy’s comments in the podcast was taken “out of context.”
Originally reported by Namrata Ghosh on Mandatory.
