RFK Jr. and Rep. Sewell clashed with the voices of Black children when they listened
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Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. found himself at odds with the congresswoman after she questioned him about past comments he made about Black children during a budget hearing Thursday.
Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Ala., confronted Kennedy about comments he made during a 2024 podcast interview that all Black children were overused and needed to be “re-educated.”
“Mr. Secretary, you’re ready to admit that you’re not a board certified doctor and you’re ready to admit that you didn’t go to medical school. Have you ever parented or parented, shall I say, a Black child?” Sewell asked Kennedy.
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Robert F. Kennedy Jr., US Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), arrives at a House Ways and Means Committee hearing in Washington, DC, on April 16, 2026, as Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Ala., speaking during a news conference to unveil the Dems’ New Health Care Action Plan at the US Capitol on Dec. 3, 202 (Pete Kiehart / Bloomberg via Getty Images; Bill Clark / CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
At the time of the podcast, Kennedy was running for president in 2024. Throughout the interview, he discussed various campaign promises, including a plan to fight the drug epidemic by building “rehabilitation centers” in rural areas. These buildings will be similar to the “health farms” he experienced during his time in the Peace Corps.
“Rehabs that I’m going to start in rural areas across the country – where any American can go for free, anyone who is addicted to drugs, legal drugs or illegal drugs … Psychiatric drugs – all the Black kids now just put on Adderall, SSRIs, Benzos, known to cause violence,” Kennedy said on the Earn Your Leisure podcast.
“And those children will have the opportunity to go somewhere and be educated again – to live in a community where there will be no cell phones, no screens. You will have to talk to people.”
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Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks during an announcement about mental health and addiction programs in Washington, DC, on Feb. 2, 2026. (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
For several minutes, the two argued back and forth about whether Kennedy had said those words. Standing behind Sewell, an aide held a poster board displaying Kennedy’s words.
Kennedy said he did not know what the phrase “repeat the parent” meant and denied ever saying it.
“You absolutely said it,” Sewell said.
But Kennedy refused to answer Sewell’s question about whether he had ever raised or parented a black child. He accused Sewell of “making up” those comments.
Republican presidential nominee, former US President Donald Trump welcomed Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on stage at the Turning Point Action campaign rally at the Gas South Arena on October 23, 2024 in Duluth, Georgia. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
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“I do not support this. Mr. Secretary, in your opinion, what factors should the federal government consider when raising a black child who has ADHD or ADD? [medication]? That’s talking, sir,” said Sewell.
An HHS spokesperson told Fox News Digital that Kennedy’s comments on the podcast were “taken out of context.”
“Prior to his time as Secretary, he described these communities as places where people, especially young people facing isolation, mental health challenges, and a growing level of hopelessness could find a kind of ‘re-growth.’ In terms of psychotherapy, parenting involves developing emotional regulation, discipline, boundaries, and self-esteem that may not have been established in childhood, through consistent care, accountability, and supportive relationships,” HHS said.
