Kennedy, other Trump officials balk at requests to testify on Capitol Hill

[Zorro]

Democrats have suggested the lack of testimony is yet another way the administration is snubbing the legislative branch.

When Sen. Bill Cassidy announced in February that he would vote to confirm Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as health secretary despite concerns about his skepticism of vaccines, the Louisiana Republican said he had secured a commitment from Kennedy to testify before the committee Cassidy chairs once a quarter if asked.

But Kennedy has not come before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee since May — and he’s hardly the only administration official who has frustrated senators by failing to show up.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem has rebuffed requests to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio briefed lawmakers behind closed doors earlier this month on the administration’s controversial strikes on boats allegedly carrying drugs in the Caribbean Sea. But they have not testified in public about the strikes, as some Democrats have demanded.

Democrats have suggested the lack of testimony is yet another way the administration is snubbing the legislative branch after President Donald Trump and Elon Musk dismantled federal agencies created by Congress and cut previously approved funding for other programs.

https://wapo.st/3LlDNx0