U.S. Sen. Angela Alsobrooks squared off against Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at a testy Capitol Hill hearing Wednesday, continuing her campaign against the controversial cabinet head.

“Sir, you are the wrong person for this job,” Alsobrooks flatly told Kennedy.

Alsobrooks, a Democrat, has been on an anti-Kennedy tour in recent days. Over the weekend she held a “sick of it” rally outside the National Institutes of Health, demanding that Kennedy resign from his position.

Then on Tuesday, she introduced a Senate resolution that, if passed, would declare that the Senate has no confidence in Kennedy to “faithfully carry out the duties of his office.” The resolution fills 15 pages with a summary of Kennedy’s actions so far, arguing that he’s violated his required duties by slashing health programs and discrediting vaccines.

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The reality for Alsobrooks and Democrats, though, is that Republicans have a majority and maintain control of the Senate — making it highly unlikely that the resolution would win approval. Monday, at a media conference announcing an executive order on drug prices, President Donald Trump said Kennedy was “doing a really good job.”

The power that Democrats have rests largely in their voice and ability to influence news coverage and social media conversations. Democrats can hope that even a resolution that goes nowhere or comments during a hearing can spark public discourse beyond Capitol Hill about Kennedy’s job performance.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks  after being sworn in as Secretary of Health and Human Services in the Oval Office at the White House on February 13, 2025 in Washington, DC.Robert F. Kennedy Jr. after being sworn in as Secretary of Health and Human Services at the White House in February.

On Wednesday, Alsobrooks sparred with Kennedy as the health secretary appeared in multiple hearings on Capitol Hill.

Alsobrooks was the last senator to question Kennedy during a budget hearing in the Senate’s Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions — following colleagues from both parties who spent more than two hours pressing the secretary on issues including job cuts at health agencies, his doubt about the measles vaccine, his controversial comments about autism, whether research into sickle-cell anemia is sufficiently funded and even how much sugar should be in orange juice.

“I’ve been sitting through this hearing all day today, and noted you have been unable in most cases to answer specific questions related to your agency,” Alsobrooks said.

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Kennedy protested, saying he hadn’t been given enough time to answer the questions.

Alsobrooks pressed Kennedy on what he knew about various programs that prevent sleep deaths among infants, promote child health, and research maternal health.

Kennedy responded that there are 42 different offices involved in maternal health, and he’s working to consolidate them. It‘s “ridiculous” to have so many offices, he said.

“Mainstream media has portrayed those as cuts, but they are not cuts. They are consolidations,” Kennedy said.

Alsobrooks said that‘s not true. “The fact of the matter is, you have dismantled it,” she said.

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In another exchange, the two sparred over whether a certain research program is housed in the National Institutes of Health or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“You’re unfamiliar with my agency,” Kennedy charged.

Alsobrooks responded that she knows the NIH well, it‘s in her jurisdiction and she was recently there with researchers whom Kennedy had fired.

“I don’t need any help from you in knowing that,” she said.