RFK Jr.’s rejection of germ theory debunked in Senate hearing

In a Congressional hearing on Wednesday, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) confronted Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on his rejection of germ theory. Senator Bill Cassidy subsequently fact-checked and debunked Kennedy's denialist arguments in real time during the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions hearing. This exchange marks a rare public instance of Kennedy's dismissal of germ theory being challenged in a high-profile setting, despite his well-known anti-vaccine activism. Kennedy explicitly detailed his germ theory denialism in his 2021 book, *The Real Anthony Fauci*, where he maligns the theory as a tool for pharmaceutical companies. He instead promotes a concept akin to the discarded terrain theory, attributing diseases to bodily imbalances from poor nutrition and environmental toxins.