RFK Jr. Faces Senate Backlash Over Measles Surge as Cases Top 2,000
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told Congress his department advises all children to receive the measles vaccine, placing him on record backing federal immunization guidance as cases surge nationwide.
The statement lands amid intensifying scrutiny, with lawmakers from both parties accusing Kennedy of contributing to declining vaccine trust during one of the worst measles resurgences in decades.
According to The Guardian and AP News, the U.S. recorded more than 2,000 measles cases over the past year, while senators cited growing concern that the country could lose its measles elimination status. Kennedy responded by emphasizing that the MMR vaccine remains recommended and effective.
But the hearing exposed a deeper conflict. Senators, including Republican physicians, challenged Kennedy’s past statements questioning vaccine safety and his restructuring of federal vaccine advisory systems, which critics say disrupted long-standing public health messaging.
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“I have never been anti-vaccine,” Kennedy said during testimony, defending his record while distancing himself from earlier rhetoric.
The broader concern now extends beyond messaging. Public health experts and lawmakers point to staffing shortages at the CDC, policy upheavals, and halted vaccine campaigns as signs of systemic strain within HHS during his tenure.
That tension defines Kennedy’s time in office so far: a shift toward emphasizing “choice” and agency reform, while facing persistent claims that those same changes are weakening vaccination rates and outbreak response.
Congress is expected to continue oversight hearings, with additional scrutiny on vaccine policy, CDC leadership, and outbreak management in the coming months.
The debate over vaccines, and Kennedy’s role in it, is far from settled.
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I should also mention that the history of medicine is millennia long. We have had ongoing improvements, with some misdirections and failings. The one unquestioned success is vaccines. In fact, the person who discovered and refined the mRNA-based vaccine that MISTER Kennedy doesn't like got a Nobel Prize for that discovery.
So, MISTER Kennedy doesn't like vaccines, and I don't approve of heroin addiction and sniffing cocaine off toilet seats. He can check around to see where the general consensus is.
I've said this before, and I'll say it again: I spent four years in medical school. I was a medical/surgical intern for a year. I was a psychiatry resident for three years. I was a fellow in psychosomatic medicine and consultation/liaison for two years. From the beginning of residency until today, I have been a psychiatrist for over 48 (very near 49) years. So I think I should be the Attorney General or the Secretary of Defense. And my further qualification is that I've never abused any substances.
Hey, I can form opinions about the law and the military. I can look things up online. I can ask around. Am I missing something?