Podcast Summary: The Briefing with Jen Psaki

Episode: "Lie after lie, Senate committee dismantles RFK Jr., often using his own words against him"

Date: September 5, 2025
Host: Jen Psaki (MSNBC)

Overview of the Episode

This episode of "The Briefing with Jen Psaki" focuses on the recent Senate Finance Committee hearing featuring Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK Jr.). The podcast dissects RFK Jr.'s misleading and false statements under Senate questioning, particularly regarding gun violence, Medicaid cuts, rural health funding, and especially vaccines—a core issue in RFK Jr.'s public career. The episode unpacks how senators from both parties challenged RFK Jr., often using his prior public statements to contradict his current testimony, and includes pointed interviews with Senator Maggie Hassan and Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey about the fallout from Kennedy’s policies. The show also briefly addresses Trump administration double standards on mortgage fraud enforcement and updates on the pursuit of the Jeffrey Epstein case.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. RFK Jr.'s Senate Testimony: Lying and Obfuscation

• Antidepressants and Mass Shootings

  • Context: After a tragic school shooting in Minnesota, RFK Jr. appeared on Fox News suggesting a link between antidepressants (SSRIs) and mass shootings, despite there being no scientific evidence.
  • Denial and Gaslighting: When questioned by Senator Tina Smith about these claims, Kennedy denied ever making them—despite clear clips of him discussing the issue on TV.
    • Notable Quote [01:26]:
      • RFK Jr.: "You're just saying something. You're just making stuff up."
    • Narrator [02:23]:
      • "That clip that you just saw was one week ago tonight on Fox News."

• Medicaid Cuts Denial

  • Trump’s "Big Ugly" Bill: The bill slashes $1 trillion from Medicaid over ten years (CBO estimate).
  • Kennedy's Evasion: RFK Jr. denies any Medicaid cuts.
    • RFK Jr. [03:56]: "There are no cuts to Medicaid."
    • Narrator [03:59]: Reiterates the factual magnitude of cuts; highlights Kennedy’s blatant denial.

• Rural Health Funding Spin

  • Manipulation of Numbers: Kennedy asserts there’s a historic "infusion" of rural healthcare funding, ignoring net cuts.
    • RFK Jr. [04:53]: "You're cutting $150 billion for rural hospitals. You're putting $50 billion back. That's not an infusion. That's a loss of $100 million."
    • Narrator [05:11]: Uses a simple analogy to expose how Kennedy rebrands cuts as investments.

2. Vaccines: Central Conflict and Policy Manipulation

• Anti-Vaccine Rhetoric vs. Official Position

  • RFK Jr.’s Contradictions: Continues to claim he isn’t "anti-vax" while undermining public trust in vaccines.
    • RFK Jr. [05:54]: "Both things are true." (In response to being called anti-vax)
  • Refusal to Acknowledge COVID Death Toll
    • RFK Jr. [06:29]: "I don't know how many [Americans] died [from COVID]."
    • Narrator: Provides CDC’s public tally of 1.23 million deaths and underscores Kennedy’s deliberate ignorance.

• Firing the CDC Director and Stacking the Vaccine Panel

  • Background: Kennedy abruptly fired the CDC director after 29 days; former director alleges it was for refusing to rubber-stamp an anti-vaccine panel’s recommendations.
    • RFK Jr. [09:13]: Claims he fired the director for not being "trustworthy".
    • Lawyers’ Statement: Former director’s lawyers call Kennedy’s account "false and at times patently ridiculous."

• Misleading the Public on Vaccine Availability

  • Kennedy’s False Claims: Repeatedly claims “anybody” over 6 months can get the COVID booster at any pharmacy, despite FDA and CDC restrictions.
    • RFK Jr. [10:40]: "Anybody can get the booster."
    • Narrator: Refutes this with real restrictions and reduced access in many states.

3. Senator Maggie Hassan Interview: Firsthand Senate Perspective

• Dangers of Kennedy’s Leadership

  • Senator Hassan [14:36]: "He is a real danger to the health and safety of Americans all across this country."
  • Pattern of Projection: Kennedy accuses others of lying when presented with uncomfortable facts.
    • Hassan [15:52]: "He obfuscates, he lies...then when you call him on it, he accuses you of doing what he's just done."
  • Science Denial: Highlights Kennedy’s refusal to engage with or accept scientific consensus, especially on vaccine effectiveness.

• Vaccine Access Impacts and State Response

  • Personal Stories: Examples of denied access to boosters, especially for vulnerable populations.
  • Broad Consequences: Erosion of vaccine standards threatens children's and community health nationally.

4. States Step Up: Governor Maura Healey (MA) on State Vaccine Policy Response

• Massachusetts' Proactive Policy
  • Universal Access: Mandates insurers cover vaccines recommended by the state health department, filling the federal policy vacuum.
    • Governor Healey [37:05]: "In Massachusetts, starting tomorrow, anyone in the Bay State is able to go to a pharmacy...to get a vaccine that they need, that they want. And...you're going to be able to get it for free."
  • Coalition Building: Healey outlines a regional strategy for data sharing, disease monitoring, and backfilling former federal roles.
    • Governor Healey [39:13]: "We're going to need to work together as states to basically backfill the federal government and the Trump administration's total abdication of responsibility when it comes to public health."
  • Risks to Routine Vaccination: Healey warns that Kennedy’s approach jeopardizes not just COVID, but core childhood vaccines (measles, mumps, rubella, hepatitis B).
    • Healey [39:35]: "We're talking about COVID vaccines, flu vaccines, RSV...But it also is about your kids. Vaccines for measles, for mumps..."

5. Broader Themes: Accountability, Selective Enforcement, and Cover-Up

• Epstein Files and Trump Administration Obstruction (22:05+)

  • Congresswoman Melanie Stansbury (NM) describes ongoing DOJ and Treasury resistance to releasing Epstein financial and investigation files, in contrast to the Epstein estate’s cooperation.
  • Scale of Abuse: Testimony from survivors reveals a vast, global trafficking network with potential involvement of powerful individuals, highlighting the importance of financial and client list subpoenas.
  • Partisan Stonewalling: Stansbury underscores GOP leadership’s efforts to block full transparency.
    • Stansbury [29:09]: "I don't have confidence that under the current leadership that the committee will be allowed to fully do its job on a bipartisan basis, which is outrageous."

• Selective Mortgage Fraud Prosecutions (30:45+)

  • Bill Pulte (FHFA): Publicly aggressive on mortgage fraud investigations aimed solely at Trump opponents (Letitia James, Adam Schiff, Lisa Cook), ignoring credible allegations against Trump allies (Ken Paxton, multiple Trump cabinet secretaries).
  • Double Standard: Underscores pattern of targeting political enemies.
    • Bill Pulte [34:57]: "There are a lot of other people that have been criminally referred, and they don't have this type of benefit being given to them, which is, oh, you know, maybe it's a clerical error and maybe it's this."

Memorable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• RFK Jr., Gaslighting under Oath

  • [01:26] "You're just saying something. You're just making stuff up." — RFK Jr.

• On Medicaid Cuts

  • [03:56] "There are no cuts to Medicaid." — RFK Jr.
  • [04:53] "You're cutting $150 billion for rural hospitals. You're putting $50 billion back. That's not an infusion. That's a loss of $100 million." — RFK Jr. (fact-checked live)

• On Vaccine Stance Contradiction

  • [05:54] "Both things are true." — RFK Jr. responding when asked when he was lying: about not being anti-vax or claiming there's no safe and effective vaccine

• On COVID Deaths

  • [06:29] "I don't know how many died." — RFK Jr., refusing to acknowledge official COVID death toll

• CDC Director Firing

  • [09:13] "I told her that she had to resign because I asked her, are you a trustworthy person? And she said no." — RFK Jr.
  • Lawyers for the former CDC director respond, calling this "patently ridiculous."

• On Vaccine Access

  • [10:40] "Anybody can get the booster." — RFK Jr., despite clear restrictions

• Senator Hassan on Kennedy’s Tactics

  • [15:52] "He obfuscates, he lies...then when you call him on it, he accuses you of doing what he's just done." — Sen. Maggie Hassan
  • [18:59] "Florida's decision today is going to put more children at risk. And it's not just going to be children in Florida who are at risk. Virus illness doesn't stop at state borders." — Sen. Maggie Hassan

• Governor Healey on Federal Abdication

  • [38:10] "We're only in this position because we've got a guy running HHS who's a walking conspiracy theorist. Anybody who watched today could see that he's a con man."
  • [39:13] "We're going to need to work together as states to basically backfill the federal government and the Trump administration's total abdication of responsibility when it comes to public health."

Important Segments & Timestamps

• 00:51–13:02: Breakdown of Senate hearing, interrogation of RFK Jr; collapse of Kennedy’s credibility on multiple fronts (antidepressants, Medicaid, vaccines).
• 14:09–20:46: Extended interview with Senator Maggie Hassan about Kennedy’s fitness for office and the concrete dangers of his policies.
• 22:05–29:45: Deep dive on the Epstein case: House Oversight efforts, Democratic efforts at transparency, stonewalling by Trump administration.
• 30:45–36:36: Discussion of selective mortgage fraud prosecutions; how this is being used to target political enemies.
• 37:05–41:46: Interview with Governor Maura Healey on Massachusetts’ cutting-edge vaccine access policies and the necessity of state action in the federal policy vacuum.

Tone and Language

The tone is urgent, pointed, and fact-driven, with visible frustration at official gaslighting and deception—especially from Secretary Kennedy and other Trump administration officials. The language remains accessible but uncompromising, often punctuated with incredulity at the depth of the administration’s dishonesty. The interviews with Senator Hassan and Governor Healey are earnest and solution-focused, providing contrast with the stonewalling and double standards elsewhere discussed.

For Listeners Who Missed the Episode

This episode is an indictment of RFK Jr.'s public health leadership and the broader culture of dishonesty and partisan weaponization in the current administration. Through detailed recaps of the Senate hearing, direct playback of Kennedy’s contradictory statements, and expert interviews, the episode lays out the profound risks to American health policy and democratic accountability. The discussion underscores the increasing need for state-level leadership to protect public health and transparency, given federal abdication.

Recommended listen for anyone seeking to understand:

• The real-time dismantling of misinformation from government officials
• The state of vaccine policy in a time of national crisis
• The ongoing investigative hurdles in high-stakes political scandals (Epstein case)
• The dangerous merging of conspiracy and public office

End of Summary