Key facts
- New documents suggest Robert F. Kennedy Jr. misrepresented the purpose of his 2019 Samoa visit to Congress.
- Kennedy previously stated the trip had "nothing to do with vaccines" and was for a medical informatics system.
- A letter from Kennedy to the Samoan prime minister, obtained by AP and The Guardian, requested to study MMR vaccines.
- The letter used the word "vaccine" or "vaccination" eight times.
- The Department of Health and Human Services defended Kennedy's statements, calling claims of lying false.
- Kennedy's confirmation as Health Secretary was supported by Sen. Bill Cassidy, who later stated his trust was broken.
Newly obtained documents suggest Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the current Health Secretary, repeatedly misled Congress about the purpose of his 2019 visit to Samoa. Kennedy, then a prominent anti-vaccine activist, had told lawmakers that the trip was unrelated to vaccines and was intended to introduce a medical informatics system.
However, a letter from Kennedy to the Samoan prime minister, acquired by The Associated Press and The Guardian, requested to study the nation's measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccines following the deaths of two children who had received them. In the letter, Kennedy used the word "vaccine" or "vaccination" eight times, raising questions about his truthfulness during his confirmation process.
The Department of Health and Human Services defended Kennedy, stating the Samoa visit was unrelated to vaccines and calling any claims of him lying "false" and "defamatory." Kennedy was not under oath during his confirmation hearing, though knowingly false testimony to Congress can be a crime.
Critics have linked Kennedy's visit to Samoa's subsequent measles outbreak, which resulted in 83 deaths, primarily among children under five. During his confirmation hearings, Kennedy faced scrutiny from lawmakers of both parties regarding his anti-vaccine rhetoric. He assured them he supported childhood vaccination and repeatedly denied that his Samoa trip was vaccine-related.
Sen. Bill Cassidy, who ultimately supported Kennedy's confirmation, stated that Kennedy had pledged to maintain federal vaccine advisory committee policies. However, Cassidy later expressed that his trust was broken after Kennedy ousted all 17 members of the committee and appointed his own advisers.