Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Admits Unvaccinated Measles Death Could Have Been Prevented During Tense Hearing

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was questioned by Congress about a recent measles outbreak after pushing anti-vax rhetoric.

During a heated exchange with Rep. Linda Sánchez on Thursday, April 16, Kennedy, 72, admitted that the life of an unvaccinated child could “certainly” have been saved by the measles vaccine, according to NPR.

Kennedy appeared before the House Ways and Means Committee on Thursday to defend President Donald Trump’s plan to cut the department’s budget.

“A strong public health messaging campaign on the importance of vaccines could have stopped this surge of measles cases as it has in past outbreaks,” Sanchez added. “You suspended this pro-vaccine messaging campaign, but somehow you’re spending taxpayer dollars to drink milk, shirtless in a hot tub with Kid Rock?”

The congresswoman from California was referring to a video shared to Kennedy’s social media last month in which the men delivered “two simple messages to the American people: GET ACTIVE + EAT REAL FOOD.”

More than 2,000 cases of measles were reported in the United States in 2025, with numbers expected to surpass that this year.

According to Kennedy, however, Mexico has been hit harder by the outbreak than the U.S, though he provided no evidence, per The New York Times. 

Amid the rising number of confirmed measles cases, Kennedy began to walk back his previous anti-vax statements, claiming he is simply “pro-safety.”

“All of my kids are vaccinated, and I believe vaccines have a critical role in healthcare,” he said during his confirmation hearing in January 2025.