By Jennifer Galardi, Contributing Writer, The Kennedy Beacon

Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, a professor of Health Policy at Stanford University, sat for just over two hours Wednesday morning in front of the House Committee on Health, Education, Culture, and Labor, as senators hurled questions at him. He's President Trump's nominee to become Director of the National Institute of Health (NIH). He faces a full senate vote on a date yet to be determined.

Much of the hearing, testy at times, was simply a redacted version of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s confirmation hearings in February. In light of the recent "outbreak" of measles in Texas, senators asked Bhattacharya about vaccinations, autism, and chronic disease. There were also questions about censoring dissenting voices, radical transparency, corporate capture, government staffing cuts, and what projects deserve NIH funding.