Overview
- Kennedy, testifying Thursday before the House Ways and Means Committee, told Rep. Terri Sewell he never used the term and said he did not know what it meant.
- Audio and video from a June 2024 Earn Your Leisure interview capture him proposing rural “wellness farms” and saying Black children on stimulants and SSRIs would “go somewhere and get re-parented.”
- HHS later said the podcast comments were taken out of context and described re‑parenting as a psychotherapy concept focused on building emotional regulation and support.
- Lawmakers broadened questioning to his qualifications and management, citing his lack of a medical degree and a department video with Kid Rock that critics said wasted funds.
- Civil rights and health advocates warned the idea echoes family separation and noted his claims that common psychiatric drugs induce violence conflict with published evidence.