From sweeping changes to vaccination protocols to scientifically dubious assertions about a host of childhood maladies, here are some of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr’s most controversial moments.
Instigated and oversaw turmoil at the CDC
In June 2025, Kennedy fired the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention vaccine advisory committee, replacing them with a “cast that includes contrarians, anti-vaccine activists and conspiracy theorists,” The Atlantic said. …
Spread conspiracies linking autism to Tylenol and circumcision
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Promoted anti-vaccine rhetoric and disrupted childhood vaccination scheduling
Though Kennedy vehemently insists he is not anti-vaccine, his record on the matter suggests otherwise. Most notably, he has promoted the “scientifically discredited belief that childhood vaccines cause autism,” The New York Times said ….
Had an extended affair with a political reporter on the campaign trail
Encouraged the spread of bird flu in poultry farms
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Suggested Covid was designed to spare Jews and Chinese people
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Blamed gender dysphoria on chemicals in the environment
Kennedy has repeatedly alleged that exposure to chemicals — endocrine disruptors, namely — is causing gender dysphoria in children and contributing to a rise in LGBTQ+ youth.
Linked school shootings with antidepressants
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