Bill Cassidy on vaccines, RFK Jr. and the fight for public trust lead image
Page H2From§Eachthe wee small hours edition — 18 September 2026
Kennedy tells anti-vaccine group they have a friend in the White House, overhauling the panel he was blocking
“They're not telling you who the friend really is — it's not Trump, it's paperwork. Kennedy tells the anti-vax crowd they've got a friend in the White House, then goes and staffs the one federal panel that could've told him no. That's not access, that's the referee getting hired by the team he's supposed to call fouls on, and it's your kid's shot schedule that gets decided by whoever's left on that board.”
“The Secretary is simply doing outreach, reassuring a coalition partner that this administration hears their concerns — reassuring them by calling the polio vaccine's success a fraud, which, no, that's not the line I meant to defend. And the task force overhaul is standard personnel review, every administration does it, he's just stocking the board that reviews his own department's guidance with people who — okay, hearing that back, that is the thing people are upset about.”
The receipts
The selections suggest the Trump administration may be trying to move the United States Preventive Services Task Force in a direction that serves its political ideology.
The US declared measles eliminated in 2000; the last two years carry more cases than the rest of the century combined - the worst count since 1991 The Hill / CDC measles data, July 2026
RFK Jr. Assures Vaccine Skeptics They Have a ‘Friend at the White House’The health secretary spoke at a conference featuring misinformation about vaccines, including a claim that the success of the polio vaccines was a “fraud.”
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. delivered a keynote speech Thursday at a conference for Children's Health Defense, an anti-vaccine group.
The US declared measles eliminated in 2000. The last two years carry more cases than the rest of the century combined - the worst count since 1991 The Hill / CDC measles data, July 2026
RFK Jr. tells vaccine-skeptic group they have a 'friend' in the White HouseHHS Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told the vaccine-skeptic group Children's Health Defense on Thursday they "have a friend in the White House" in President Donald Trump.
The US declared measles eliminated in 2000. The last two years carry more cases than the rest of the century combined - the worst count since 1991 The Hill / CDC measles data, July 2026
RFK Jr. says anti-vaccine group has a 'friend at the White House'Speaking to the anti-vaccine group he once led, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said Thursday the Trump administration supports its cause.
The US has more measles cases in the last two years than the rest of the century combined, the worst since 1991 The Hill / CDC measles data, July 2026
Kennedy fans vaccine injury concerns at anti-vaccine eventClick in for more news from The Hill {beacon} Healthcare Healthcare The Big Story Kennedy fans vaccine injury concerns at anti-vaccine event Returning to the anti-vaccine group he long chaired on Thursday, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert. F. Kennedy Jr.
· RFK Jr. feuds with Shapiro, spreads vaccine misinformation from the morgue, 26 Aug 2026
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