内容摘要：Aggie, who is about 5 years old, was gifted to Katherine Kiefer by a friend during the COVID-19 pandemic. Social media users have been so touched by the pair’s reunion video that many have been asking for daily updates. The family’s $30,000 GoFundMe campaign for Aggie’s vet bills had topped $21,000 by Tuesday afternoon.

Aggie, who is about 5 years old, was gifted to Katherine Kiefer by a friend during the COVID-19 pandemic. Social media users have been so touched by the pair’s reunion video that many have been asking for daily updates. The family’s $30,000 GoFundMe campaign for Aggie’s vet bills had topped $21,000 by Tuesday afternoon.

In combative and at times highly personal rejoinders, Kennedy defended the Trumpto reshape the sprawling, $1.7 trillion-a-year agency, saying it would deliver a more efficient department focused on promoting healthier lifestyles among Americans.

Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., votes aye at the final moment as the Senate Finance Committee holds a roll call vote to approve the nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Health and Human Services Department, at the Capitol in Washington, Feb. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., votes aye at the final moment as the Senate Finance Committee holds a roll call vote to approve the nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Health and Human Services Department, at the Capitol in Washington, Feb. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)“There’s so much chaos and disorganization in this department,” Kennedy said on Wednesday during the Senate hearing. “What we’re saying is let’s organize in a way that we can quickly adopt and deploy all these opportunities we have to really deliver high-quality health care to the American people.”

During tense exchanges, lawmakers — in back to back House and Senate hearings — sometimes questioned whether Kennedy was aware of his actions and the structure of his own department after he struggled to provide more details about staffing cuts.“I have noted you’ve been unable, in most instances, to answer any specific questions related to your agency,” said Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, a Maryland Democrat.

The secretary, in turn, pushed back — saying he had not had time to answer specific questions — and at points questioning lawmakers’ own grasp of health policy.

Kennedy testified to explain his downsizing of the department — from 82,000 to 62,000 staffers — and argue on behalf of the White House’s requested budget, which includes a $500 million boost for Kennedy’s “Make America Healthy Again” initiative to promote nutrition and healthier lifestyles while making deep cuts to infectious disease prevention, medical research and maternal health programs.U.S. District Judge Mary McElroy in Rhode Island granted the preliminary injunction request in the lawsuit brought last month by a coalition of Democrat-led states, allowing the money to keep flowing.

“If we don’t have our health, we don’t have anything, and that’s why today’s preliminary injunction is such a critical win,” Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha said in a statement, adding later: “A hacksaw approach to government reduction will never yield positive results for the American people, and we will continue to fight, and win, in court to minimize the harm the Trump Administration is causing the people of this country.”The lawsuit filed April 1

sought to immediately halt, alleging that it would decimate public health infrastructure across the country. The money, allocated by Congress during the pandemic, supported COVID-19 initiatives and