Senator Ron Wyden, incoming chair of the Senate finance committee, has initiated an investigation into whether Robert F Kennedy Jr lied during his confirmation hearings for the position of US health secretary. Wyden cited a Guardian report that suggested Kennedy may have provided false testimony regarding a 2019 trip to Samoa. The investigation seeks extensive records from Children’s Health Defense, the anti-vaccine group Kennedy has been associated with.
The investigation focuses on Kennedy's 2019 trip to Samoa, which occurred months before a measles outbreak that killed 83 people, mostly children under five. Critics claim Kennedy's presence in Samoa encouraged anti-vaccine activists, worsening the vaccination crisis. Kennedy has denied these allegations and stated he never discouraged vaccination.
Wyden and Angela Alsobrooks, a Democratic senator from Maryland, expressed concern over Kennedy's tactics and the harm caused to children by preventable deaths during measles outbreaks. They intend to hold Kennedy accountable for any false statements made to Congress.
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