Health and Human Services Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has clarified his views on vaccines, particularly the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine.
This came as he faced a hearing with the Senate Finance Committee for nearly three hours.
Multiple Senators pushed the Health and Human Services Secretary to clarify his views on vaccines, particularly the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine.
Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) said that Kennedy was “pushing vaccine misinformation predating (his) tenure” and asked him to explain how he would reduce the number of measles cases and improve the MMR vaccination rate as the US faces record-breaking outbreaks and spread. Kennedy responded, “We promote the MMR,” adding, “We advise every child to get the MMR.”
Kennedy said that claims that he has spread vaccine misinformation were incorrect. “You’re just making things up, Senator, you’re just inventing stuff,” he said. Ahead of the midterm elections, aides to President Donald Trump have sought to rein in Kennedy on efforts to overhaul vaccines and other core health policies.
Also, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told lawmakers that the Trump administration is not cutting Medicaid funding. He pointed to a recent Congressional Budget Office report that shows spending on the safety net program is expected to rise from $668 billion in 2025 to $981 billion in 2036, a 47% increase.
Kennedy repeated his claim that no one who is legally enrolled in Medicaid will lose their coverage. The Republican package limits the eligibility of immigrants in the US legally. The bill is expected to reduce Medicaid enrollment by 13.1 million people in 2035, with a sizeable share stemming from the new work requirement, the CBO estimates.
Additionally, the Health and Human Services Secretary told the Senate Finance Committee that he is soliciting new members for a key panel of agency advisers: the US Preventive Services Task Force, which recommends screenings for cancer, diabetes and heart diseases, behavioral counseling and other preventive care.
Under the Affordable Care Act, insurers must cover preventive services that get an A or B grade from the group at no cost to patients. Kennedy said that the panel would expand beyond primary care doctors to specialists, would meet more often and provide more transparency.
He promised Wyoming GOP Sen. John Barrasso, an orthopedic surgeon, that he would not “undermine any of those functions,” though he had blasted the task force for “not doing its job” at another hearing the day before.
In a notice posted to the Federal Register that is scheduled to be published Thursday, HHS is asking for nominations of new members, encouraging anesthesiologists, cardiologists, oncologists, radiologists and other specialists to apply. Some experts have raised concerns about adding specialists because they may not be as familiar with the wide range of preventive care and may have incentives to issue recommendations that could benefit their colleagues financially.
The task force has not met for more than a year and has been unable to advance recommendations that are under review or in development, concerning many preventive care experts. Five of its 16 members’ terms expired on January 1.
The USPSTF shakeup comes after Kennedy overhauled the agency’s highest-profile vaccine advisory group, the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. Kennedy, a longtime vaccine skeptic, replaced all of the committee’s members last year. The new panel made major changes to its vaccine recommendations.
RFK Jr To Testify Before Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee
Later today, RFK Jr will testify before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee. It will be the last in a long string of congressional hearings for Kennedy over the past two weeks based around the proposed HHS budget for fiscal year 2027.
Senator Bill Cassidy who chairs the HELP Committee gave a key vote in support of Kennedy for his initial confirmation as HHS Secretary, but the two have had a tumultuous relationship since, particularly over vaccine policy.
In September, Cassidy led a HELP Committee hearing with fired US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Chief Susan Monarez, granting her a high-profile platform to detail the internal clashes over vaccines that prompted Kennedy to oust her just four weeks after endorsing her appointment.
Cassidy, meanwhile, is locked in a tight race for reelection against multiple Republicans who have criticized the two-term senator for voting to convict President Donald Trump in 2021 during the Senate’s impeachment trial. At this morning’s finance committee meeting, Cassidy did not question Kennedy about vaccines, instead focusing on health insurance.
READ ALSO: UK Moves to Harness Private Capital to Accelerate Defence Innovation
