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RFK Jr. says anti-vaccine group has a ‘friend at the White House’ Speaking to the anti-vaccine group he once led, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said Thursday the Trump administration supports its cause. “You have a strong and steadfast friend at the White House,” Kennedy told dozens of attendees at a one-day conference put on by Children’s Health Defense, the organization he co-founded and led from 2015 to 2023. Kennedy’s appearance at the conference highlighted how close he remains to the anti-vaccine movement, despite his efforts over the past year to appear to distance himself. Thursday’s conference in Washington, D.C., marked Kennedy’s first appearance at an official Children’s Health Defense conference since he joined the Trump administration, but the group now wields significant political clout. Kennedy did not attend the group’s national conference last year. Leaders of the organization have been hired in prominent positions at the HHS, and views that were once considered fringe — like a false and debunked link between vaccines and autism — have become mainstream in the Trump administration, oftentimes echoed by President Trump himself. In a speech that spanned more than an hour, Kennedy initially ran through his agency’s accomplishments to address chronic illness and promote healthier food. But he quickly turned to questioning the safety of routine vaccination. Kennedy said Trump has tasked him to “vigorously investigate the potential contribution of childhood vaccines to the chronic disease epidemic.” “The question is, should we be looking at the potential that some of these chronic illnesses are associated with vaccines?” Kennedy said. He claimed that diabetes, sudden infant death syndrome and anorexia can be side effects of routine vaccines. Kennedy also vowed to investigate chemtrails and electromagnetic fields. Kennedy urged patience with federal bureaucracy but assured the audience that change is happening. “Over the past 19 months, we have fundamentally changed how the federal government responds to parents who question what they’ve been told about vaccines,” Kennedy said. “President Trump will not allow the government to treat parents who question vaccine orthodoxies as lepers … we have started asking the questions that you and millions of American parents have been asking for years, and the establishment has pushed back very hard.” Kennedy said he had a mandate to shake up the Washington, D.C., establishment. “I didn’t come to Washington to protect institutions from uncomfortable questions,” he said. “I came to make those institutions answer those questions, and I intend to stay in this fight as long as I am able.” Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
document fetched 2026-09-18 02:55 · canonical https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/6096884-kennedy-trump-administration-anti-vaccination