There were fireworks during Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.\u2019s testimony today before the House Education and Workforce Committee, as Kennedy faced a second day of criticism from Democrats.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kennedy\u2019s appearance was ostensibly to discuss next year\u2019s HHS budget. But, as was the case during yesterday\u2019s hearing before the House Ways and Means Committee, he was grilled on the ongoing spread of measles: Last year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which is an HHS agency, reported<\/a> 2,288 cases of measles in the United States, the most infections since 1991.<\/p>\n Children are dying of diseases that we thought we had eradicated.<\/p>\n Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens of Michigan, who introduced<\/a> articles of impeachment against Kennedy in December 2025, said Americans are less safe under his watch.<\/p>\n \u201cChildren are dying of diseases that we thought we had eradicated,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Measles was declared eliminated in the United States in 2000 because of widespread vaccination, which is 97% effective<\/a> after two doses. But growing pockets of the country are now below the 95% threshold needed to maintain herd immunity.<\/p>\n The declining vaccination rates coincide with growing skepticism about vaccine safety and efficacy.<\/p>\n Kennedy, a scion of America\u2019s most storied political dynasty, was a prominent anti-vaccine activist before joining the Trump administration. For at least two decades<\/a>, he has publicly questioned the safety of various immunizations.\u00a0<\/p>\n Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) pointed to Kennedy\u2019s record, telling the secretary that he should resign from HHS.<\/p>\n \u201cLet someone with real qualifications run this agency,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Kennedy says measles rise predates his HHS leadership<\/p>\n Republicans were solicitous of Kennedy throughout the hearing, and Rep. Bob Onder (R-MO) implied that Stevens\u2019 impassioned criticism of Kennedy was motivated by a desire to go viral on social media.<\/p>\n For his part, Kennedy seemed unfazed by verbal attacks from Democrats as he defended his record, noting that measles cases were on the rise in the United States before he took over as head of HHS.\u00a0<\/p>\n Kennedy’s two decades of vaccine skepticism, including as chair of Children’s Health Defense, is part of that picture regardless of his swearing-in date.<\/p>\n That framing is misleading, said Jake Scott, MD, an infectious disease physician at the Stanford University School of Medicine.<\/p>\n The recent large measles outbreaks are occurring because of years of falling vaccine coverage, said Scott. \u201cKennedy’s two decades of vaccine skepticism, including as chair of Children’s Health Defense, is part of that picture regardless of his swearing-in date,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n It’s striking how many fewer parents are vaccinating their kids since Kennedy took office, said David Hill, MD, a spokesperson with the American Academy of Pediatrics.\u00a0<\/p>\n While correlation doesn’t prove causation, Hill said, it would be interesting to replace Kennedy with someone who has \u201ca more scientific understanding of public health and see if the trend reverses.\u201d<\/p>\n Kennedy said, \u201cI have never been anti-vaccine,\u201d but also said that vaccines are not adequately tested for safety. He\u2019s made numerous similar previous statements<\/a> questioning the value of vaccination and has also said<\/a> that the measles vaccine causes deaths \u201cevery year.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n