POLITICO Pro – Top Democrat says RFK Jr. should be ‘very worried’

California’s Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, told POLITICO that Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will be a prime target for investigation if Democrats regain control of the House.
“The secretary needs to be very worried and very concerned because what he is doing is exactly what we’re going to focus on. He is going to be a key piece of who we’re investigating,” said Garcia.

Garcia, who expects to chair the committee if Democrats take over, did not rule out subpoena requests or articles of impeachment. “We have pushed hard on Secretary [Kristi] Noem. We pushed hard on Pam Bondi, and both got removed… Obviously, if we find high crimes and misdemeanors, and there's evidence of that, of course, [impeachment] should never be off the table.”

He added: “[Kennedy] should expect to be in front of our committee. It’s no question.”
The remarks coincide with the release of a 105-page committee report from Democrats outlining the harm they think the Trump administration has done to public health, from undermining access to vaccines to cancelling billions in research grants to kicking millions of Americans off their insurance plans — issues that Garcia said will serve as a “roadmap” if Democrats are in charge.

“We're setting up the infrastructure,” said Garcia, who is holding a forum with Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) on the Trump administration’s record on public health on Tuesday.

“You can't essentially attack the work of our doctors and researchers and our scientists as it relates to vaccines and not have pushback from Congress. It’s our job to keep people safe and healthy, and RFK Jr. has been doing the opposite of that,” he added.

The remarks arrive less than six months before the midterm elections, where Democrats are betting voter frustrations with the high cost of living and GOP actions on health care will help them win back control of Congress. Obamacare premiums have soared this year after Republicans rejected Democrats’ proposals to extend pandemic-era subsidies, which expired in December, and the GOP budget package enacted last year imposed nearly $1 trillion in cuts to Medicaid.

Kennedy has made several trips to districts that will shape control of the House in recent months, most recently meeting with Republican Reps. Bill Huizenga and Tom Barrett in Michigan last week to tout his Make America Healthy Again agenda.
POLITICO reported Kennedy also privately asked a Libertarian candidate in a House battleground race in Iowa to drop out, sharing that “If this seat flips, it’ll make my life hell.”

The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform has the ability to investigate the executive branch and subpoena officials. It takes on extra importance when it’s run by the party opposed to the president.

Garcia, who lost his mother and stepfather to Covid-19, has been one of the most vocal critics of Kennedy and his MAHA agenda in Congress, once calling Kennedy the “most dangerous Cabinet pick” ahead of President Donald Trump’s inauguration last year.

Garcia sent letters to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention following Kennedy’s overhaul of its vaccine advisory panel, demanding answers on how new advisers were selected, as well as to Kennedy after his hand-picked advisory panel voted to end the recommendation that all newborns receive the Hepatitis B vaccine shortly after birth.

Garcia scored a victory in targeting the executive branch despite his limited power as ranking member last year, pressuring Republicans on the Oversight Committee to subpoena the Justice Department for materials related to Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex offender.
Garcia has also expressed interest in targeting the private sector for its role in driving up health care costs if he becomes Oversight chair, citing drug pricing and hospital consolidation as areas of concern.
He also did not rule out issuing subpoenas to the 17 drugmakers that have struck deals with Trump in exchange for tariff reprieve.
“Everything is on the table,” Garcia said.