In the Middle of Active Measles Outbreaks, RFK Jr. Keynotes the Anti-Vaccine Group He Founded — Saying He Now Leads "the Department That Can Put the Full Weight of the Federal Government Behind Answering Those Questions," as Ron Johnson Asks "Why Don't More Americans See It as Obvious as We See It?"

September 17, 2026

On September 17, 2026, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. delivered a keynote address to Children's Health Defense, the anti-vaccine organization he founded and led before joining the administration. It was his first public appearance with the group since becoming HHS Secretary. The timing is the story: the United States is in its worst measles year since 1991, with active outbreaks and reported deaths, and Kennedy's own nominees for Surgeon General and Deputy HHS Secretary had broken with him on vaccine safety under oath at Senate hearings the day before. Kennedy told the conference he now holds the authority to direct the federal government toward the questions the group has long raised. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) opened the conference. Several other sitting Republican members of Congress were reported as speakers. Stances below are relative to the administration's vaccine posture as presented at the conference.