What was supposed to be a serious Senate Finance Committee hearing on Thursday spiraled into political theater when Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), a live-action role player (LARPer) of a U.S. senator, repeatedly badgered Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., at one point holding up a novelty starfish pin and declaring the secretary “unworthy” of it.
Luján opened his questioning by accusing Kennedy of ignoring expert advice, citing the resignation letter of Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, a former CDC director. When Kennedy answered that he was regularly briefed, naming Dr. William Thompson, Luján dismissed the reply and pressed for more, berating the secretary as evasive, while unhinged, claiming Kennedy couldn’t understand Luján’s “New Mexico accent.”
The senator then fixated on a contractor, David Geyer, claiming he was secretly conducting a government autism study despite Kennedy’s clear denial. Kennedy explained that Geyer was a contractor with limited access to federal data, but Luján insisted otherwise, throwing accusations and dredging up unrelated past legal disputes. “Do you know who works for you, Mr. Kennedy?” Luján peformatively sneered before repeatedly interrupting Kennedy’s attempts to give him an answer.
The exchange reached peak absurdity when Luján waved a starfish pin he said had been given to him at a town hall in Las Cruces. In a dramatic scolding, he told Kennedy: “I was going to give it to you today, but after your questioning today, I don’t think you deserve it.” Luján went on to lecture Kennedy with a children’s parable about tossing stranded starfish back into the ocean, before concluding, “I’m sorry that you’re not worthy of this nice little pin … today was a failure for you, man.”
Kennedy, visibly frustrated after being repeatedly cut off, accused Luján of “showboating” for the cameras. The back-and-forth left the New Mexico Democrat looking more interested in theatrics than substance, with his condescending tone and props drawing raised eyebrows even from colleagues.
Instead of pressing for answers, Luján’s tirade devolved into what critics described as a bizarre stunt that trivialized a serious discussion on health policy. His “starfish speech” capped off an afternoon where Kennedy was often interrupted and prevented from responding fully to questions.
For many watching, the moment cemented Luján’s reputation for turning hearings into spectacles. What should have been an exchange about facts and policy instead ended with a senator making himself the headline.
How childish.