Health Care

Kennedy denies pressure to back off vaccines, but casts focus elsewhere

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by Joseph Choi - 04/21/26 6:07 PM ET

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by Joseph Choi - 04/21/26 6:07 PM ET

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Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told Congress on Tuesday that he has not faced pressure from the White House to scale back his vaccine skepticism, even as a top Trump health adviser recognized “ongoing conversations about where to prioritize.”

The denial contradicts a mounting body of reporting from sources inside the Trump administration who say the White House is keeping Kennedy on a tighter leash ahead of the midterm elections as a way of courting moderate voters.

Sources familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal last month that Trump aides were reining in Kennedy in response to polls showing his vaccine moves were unpopular, while unnamed officials told Stat the White House was “done” with vaccines.

Rep. Marc Veasey (D-Texas) on Tuesday asked outright whether the White House had advised Kennedy to stop talking about vaccines.

“Did [White House chief of staff] Susie Wiles or anyone in the White House instruct you or suggest that you stop talking about your controversial vaccine skepticism?” asked Veasey, to which Kennedy said, “No.”

However, Kennedy’s recent appearances before Congress appear to have corroborated this new approach, with the secretary making no mention of vaccines in his opening remarks when appearing before the House in a series of budget hearings starting last week.

The secretary made no mention of vaccines when listing the Trump administration’s health care accomplishments, focusing instead on Trump’s “most favored nation” policy and food initiatives, like his push to remove petroleum-based dyes from food products.

When he launched “The Secretary Kennedy Podcast” last week, Kennedy’s focus was again somewhere other than vaccines, instead featuring a conversation about the U.S. food system with celebrity chef Robert Irvine.

While Kennedy was before Congress on Tuesday, White House senior adviser Calley Means, a key Kennedy ally, spoke at Politico’s Health Care summit, echoing Kennedy while alluding to internal discussions about where to focus.

Politico senior executive editor Alex Burns asked Means whether anyone in the White House had told him or Kennedy to “lay off” vaccines.

“So, no,” said Means. “I think that these are just ongoing conversations about where to prioritize on what’s leading to a problem in American health care and we’re not apologizing for what’s happened on vaccines.”

“I think the media likes to take any comment on vaccines and blare the anti-vaccine headlines and blare those polls,” he added.

Polls have shown in recent weeks that trust in vaccinations has remained strong, while trust in Kennedy when it comes to public health has lagged. A survey released by the progressive political action committee 314 Action found that 69 percent of voters say they trust “vaccines in general,” while 40 percent said they trusted Kennedy.

Veasey on Tuesday cited a polling memo by the GOP firm Fabrizio Ward from last year that found “there is broad unity across party lines supporting vaccines such as measles (MMR), shingles, tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis (TDAP), and Hepatitis B.”

“While there remains partisan polarization around COVID vaccines, Republicans should not mistake skepticism over the COVID vaccine as evidence that Republican voters are against all vaccinations. To do so would be folly,” the memo noted.

“Moreover, support for vaccines is sky-high among Swing voters — the people who don’t vote along straight party lines and tend to decide close elections.”

Kennedy stated he was not aware of the memo.

“Conveniently, since the White House received this memo, it seems that you are miraculously no longer an anti-vaxxer,” said Veasey. “You and I both know what is going on here. You have absolutely not had a change of heart.”

Throughout the hearing, Kennedy repeatedly said he has “never” been anti-vaccine. But Democrats nonetheless hammered Kennedy on this issue.

Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) told Kennedy about her meeting with people who had contracted preventable illnesses and told her they didn’t receive vaccines because of messaging from the federal government.

“You may think that you’re pro-vaccine, but people aren’t hearing that, and I’m talking to the people that are actually sick right now,” she said.

“And you’re hiring people that are vaccine skeptic health appointees and they are spreading, quite frankly, lies about vaccine safety,” she added.

Speaking to The H