RFK Jr.: A public-health wrecking ball
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. doubles down on anti-vaccine policies amid a growing measles outbreak

During his confirmation hearings, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. "presented himself as a supporter of vaccines," said Apoorva Mandavilli in The New York Times, but his actions as health secretary tell a starkly different story. He and his agencies have taken "far-reaching, sometimes subtle steps to undermine confidence in vaccine efficacy and safety." Last week, the health secretary announced a "massive" study that he says will determine by September the cause of the "autism epidemic" — led by a top proponent of the repeatedly debunked theory that vaccines cause autism. Under RFK Jr.'s conspiracy-minded, anti-scientific leadership, health agencies have halted research into vaccine hesitancy, cut billions in state funding for childhood immunization, and terminated an ad campaign promoting flu shots. Top FDA vaccine regulator Peter Marks quit last month under pressure, saying it was clear Kennedy was not after truth but "subservient confirmation of his misinformation and lies."
Even amid a Texas measles outbreak that has sickened more than 500 people and killed two children, Kennedy has failed to offer "a firm, unambiguous endorsement of vaccination," said Jonathan Cohn in The Bulwark. He "begrudgingly" told an interviewer last week that "the federal government's position" is that "people should get the measles vaccine." But he quickly undercut his tepid endorsement by falsely saying that vaccines aren't safety-tested. Last week, Kennedy had the astounding "chutzpah" to attend the funeral of an unvaccinated 8-year-old Texas girl who died of measles, said Robin Abcarian in the Los Angeles Times. Her death is the "direct result of years of vaccine skepticism and hostility" sown by Kennedy and his anti-science allies.
The erosion of trust in vaccines just scratches the surface of the damage Kennedy is doing, said Adam Cancryn in Politico. In two months, he has "dramatically reshaped the U.S. health apparatus," firing 10,000 government health officials and scientists, erasing a vast trove of "collective expertise and institutional knowledge," and leaving his department in "an unprecedented state of upheaval." The public health infrastructure he's dismantling "is the greatest invention of the Industrial Age," said Troy Farah in Salon. We now take for granted its success in reducing childhood mortality, eradicating horrific diseases like smallpox and polio, and giving us longer, healthier lives. If we let Kennedy's "reckless stupidity" reverse a century of progress, the impact will be felt for generations.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
5 museum-grade cartoons about Trump's Smithsonian purge
Cartoons Artists take on institutional rebranding, exhibit interpretation, and more
-
Settling the West Bank: a death knell for a Palestine state?
In the Spotlight The reality on the ground is that the annexation of the West Bank is all but a done deal
-
Sudoku medium: August 23, 2025
The Week's daily medium sudoku puzzle
-
Texas OKs gerrymander sought by Trump
Speed Read The House approved a new congressional map aimed at flipping Democratic-held seats to Republican control
-
'That message may seem unimpeachable'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Judges: Threatened for ruling against Trump
Feature Threats against federal judges across the U.S. have surged since Donald Trump took office
-
The census: Why Trump wants a new one
Feature Donald Trump is pushing for a 'Trumpified census' that excludes undocumented immigrants
-
Voting Rights Act: Dying a slow death
Feature 60 years after it was signed into law, the Voting Rights Act is being gutted by Republicans and the Supreme Court
-
Health: Will medical science survive RFK Jr.?
Feature Robert F. Kennedy Jr. scrapped $500 million in mRNA vaccine research contracts
-
Trump extends power with D.C. police takeover
Feature Donald Trump deploys 500 law enforcement officers and 800 National Guard members to fight crime in Washington, D.C.
-
Trump and Modi: the end of a beautiful friendship?
In the Spotlight Harsh US tariffs designed to wrest concessions from Delhi have been condemned as 'a new form of imperialism'