Congresswoman Scholten Demands Answers on the Death of Airman First Class Keon McDaniel of Grand Rapids

WASHINGTON, DC - This week, Congresswoman Hillary Scholten (D-MI-03) led a letter to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth demanding answers on the June 16th death of Airman First Class Keon McDaniel of Grand Rapids. Airman McDaniel died during the influenza outbreak at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas following the Department of Defense's April 2026 decision to make the annual influenza vaccine voluntary for servicemembers.

Congresswoman Scholten was joined by Reps. Joaquin Castro (D-TX-20), whose district includes Lackland Air Force Base, Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA-06), Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee's Military Personnel Subcommittee, Shri Thanedar (D-MI-13), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI-12), Haley Stevens (D-MI-11), Debbie Dingell (D-MI-06), and Kristen McDonald Rivet (D-MI-08).

"When tragedies like this occur, the American people and the Congress that represents them deserve immediate transparency and accountability," the Representatives wrote in part. "We urge the Department to ensure that Airman McDaniel's family receives timely and direct answers to any questions they may have about the circumstances of his death before any additional findings or information are made public. Keon's family has already made the greatest sacrifice. They deserve to hear the truth directly from the Department, delivered with compassion and respect."

The outbreak spread to hundreds of other recruits, and the Department has since reinstated the influenza vaccine requirement.

"While the DoD made the right decision to reinstate the influenza vaccine requirement for new recruits, this outbreak at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland underscores the importance of science- based decision-making guided by medical professionals when making public health decisions affecting our servicemembers. Politicizing the administration of lifesaving vaccines has led to the death of a servicemember, the hospitalization of numerous trainees, and an expensive race to retroactively provide our servicemembers the health care they need and deserve," the Representatives continued.

The full copy of the letter with the Representatives' questions can be found here.

On July 2, Congresswoman Scholten made an initial statement on the tragedy, and today, she spoke on the House floor to honor Keon's life and service, followed by a chamber-wide moment of silence.

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