Markey Statement on New Reporting That RFK Jr. Lied to Senator Markey in Senate Confirmation Hearing

Senator Markey directly questioned RFK Jr. under oath about ties to measles outbreak in Samoa

Boston (August 27, 2026) - Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), top Democrat on the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Subcommittee on Primary Health and Retirement Security, released the following statement after new reporting uncovered documents revealing that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. traveled to Samoa in 2019 to promote disinformation about the measles vaccine. Shortly after his trip, Samoa experienced a deadly outbreak of measles that killed over 80 people and has been attributed to mass vaccine disinformation. Senator Markey questioned the then-nominee at his January 30, 2025, confirmation hearing. RFK Jr. lied to Senator Markey and Congress during his confirmation process, saying his trip to Samoa had "nothing to do with vaccines."

"New documents confirm what we already knew: RFK Jr. lied to Congress. He told us his Samoa trip had nothing to do with vaccines-now this letter shows that was false, just like it was false when he denied his role in the deadly outbreak that followed. This is a pattern, not a slip. RFK Jr. has lied to the Senate, lied to the American people, and jeopardized the health of children to advance his anti-vaccine agenda. He should never have been confirmed, and he cannot be trusted to run HHS for even one more day," said Senator Markey.

Senator Markey has been a fierce opponent of the Trump administration's Make America Sick Agenda.

• In March, Senator Markey and Dr. Rochelle Walensky, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director under President Joe Biden, published an op-ed in Newsweek titled, "America Is Getting Sicker, Not Healthier, Under Trump and RFK Jr." Senator Markey and Dr. Walensky detail the damage that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has done to Massachusetts' and the country's health infrastructure as he has sown seeds of distrust in medicine and science, particularly vaccines, and taken a sledgehammer to life-saving research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other health and research institutions.

• In February, Senator Markey released a statement following the release of documents indicating that Kennedy traveled to Samoa in 2019 to promote unscientific claims about vaccine safety. Kennedy's visit preceded a measles outbreak in Samoa that killed 83 people, mostly young children.

• In September 2025, Senator Markey called for Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to resign in response to RFK Jr.'s irresponsible anti-vaccine rhetoric and dangerous public health policies.

• Senator Markey also released a tracker featuring a comprehensive list of Kennedy's dangerous actions since he was confirmed as HHS Secretary in February 2025.

• Senator Markey opposed Kennedy's nomination to be HHS Secretary.

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