Senator John Kennedy is a bad caricature of a southern gentleman and he masquerades around Capitol Hill as a folksy “just asking questions” kind of fella. In reality, he’s a wealthy, elite, fraud with a $20 million net worth who attended Oxford. Despite representing the poorest state in America, this Louisiana senator took his allotted time at a hearing with the Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to review how poverty is calculated and take issue with it. So this is our response.

Resources

Senator John Kennedy: Kennedy questions Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on poverty data in Senate Banking Committee

USAFacts: What is the poverty rate in Louisiana?

World Population Review: Poorest U.S. States 2026

The Data Center: Health as resilience capacity in New Orleans: The critical role of community-based collaborations

Prison Gerrymandering Project: Federal Census policy harms Louisiana’s democracy — but state lawmakers can fix it

Wikipedia: John Kennedy (Louisiana politician)

Buzzfeed News: John Kennedy Is America’s Folksiest Senator. Some People Who Know Him Say It’s An Act.

Quiver Quantitative: Senator John Kennedy has filed a new financial disclosure - here’s what we see

UNFTR Resources

Video: Senator Questions Poverty Calculations | Here's Why That's INSANE

Essay: John Goober Kennedy: The Louisiana Senator Thinks Poor People Are Faking It.

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