Robert F Kennedy Jr. amassed an online following by questioning scientific consensus and casting doubt on the use of vaccines in the United States, but under his new boss, President Donald Trump, the failed presidential candidate is abruptly shifting his position.
Kennedy is Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. According to Politico, he has been assuring Republican senators who must vote for him that he is “all for” polio vaccines and will not ban any vaccines.
According to lawmakers who spoke with Politico, Kennedy has simply stated that he wants to make safety and efficacy data more accessible.
This lighter tone is a departure from Kennedy’s previous comments on vaccines. He has previously claimed that the measles vaccine causes autism and that polio vaccines may have killed “many, many, many, many, many more people than polio ever did.”
Neither of these claims represents the scientific consensus.
He is perhaps best known for his remarks about the Covid-19 vaccines, which he dubbed the “deadliest” ever developed. At one point, he even suggested that the virus had been designed to not affect Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese.
“He told me he’s not anti-vaccine. He supports vaccine safety, which strikes me as a reasonable position,” Senator John Cornyn told Politico.
When asked about Kennedy’s history of vaccine skepticism, Alabama Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville said he does not “keep up with all that.”
He went on to tell Politico that he spoke with Kennedy and believes the nominee supports vaccinations as long as they are safe.
Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski, a moderate Republican, said she felt better about Kennedy leading HHS after a lengthy conversation with him.
Murkowski did not confirm that she would vote for him, but said she would question him further during his confirmation hearing and make a decision then.
Despite what Kennedy appears to be telling Republican lawmakers now, his actions have so far indicated that he is skeptical of vaccines and has made money by publicly championing that cause.
His Children’s Health Defense advocacy group has raised more than $1 million and continues to claim that vaccines are linked to asthma, autism, and developmental issues in children, despite scientific evidence.
In a post on X two weeks ago, Democratic Senator Christ Murphy expressed his strong feelings about RFK’s vaccine ideas.
“We don’t have to treat conspiracy theorists like Robert Kennedy Jr. with kid gloves. It’s simple. He’s spent his entire career fighting school vaccination programs. “If they atrophy, children will die,” Murphy wrote on social media.
“[E]Even if RFK Jr. does not legally weaken school vaccine requirements (which he might!), his appointment as HHS Secretary will amplify his conspiracy theories. When vaccine rates fall as a result of RFK Jr.’s conspiracy, children die.
The Independent has reached out to Kennedy for comment.
Kentucky Republican Senator Mitch McConnell, whose legs were weakened as a child due to polio complications, provided one of the most direct responses to Kennedy’s vaccine skepticism.
He issued a defense of the polio vaccine last month, which was interpreted as a direct response to Kennedy’s views, stating that “efforts to undermine public confidence in proven cures are not just uninformed — they’re dangerous.”
Kennedy’s confirmation hearing is scheduled for January 29.
