RFK Jr misled Senate during confirmation, Congress members and Hawaii governor say
Earlier DU threads:
• Newly revealed emails undermine RFK Jr testimony about 2019 Samoa trip ahead of measles outbreak
• Newly revealed emails undermine RFK Jr testimony about 2019 Samoa trip ahead of measles outbreak
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Source: The Guardian
RFK Jr misled Senate during confirmation, Congress members and Hawaii governor say
Newly revealed emails undermine Kennedy’s testimony about 2019 Samoa trip ahead of deadly measles outbreak
Michelle R Smith
Mon 9 Feb 2026 17.23 GMT
Last modified on Mon 9 Feb 2026 18.52 GMT
Three members of Congress say the US health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, lied during his Senate confirmation hearings in response to newly revealed emails that undermine his testimony that a trip he took to Samoa ahead of a deadly measles outbreak had “nothing to do with vaccines”.
The governor of Hawaii, a medical doctor who responded to the crisis, also spoke out – saying that the disclosure of the emails by the Guardian and the Associated Press show Kennedy misled the Senate and that he should step down.
Kennedy, a lawyer and longtime anti-vaccine activist before his appointment as health secretary, was asked about the trip several times during two days of confirmation hearings last year. He repeatedly denied that his reason for going there in June 2019 had anything to do with vaccines. But the records show staff at the US embassy and the United Nations wrote emails shortly before Kennedy’s visit saying he was visiting because of his concerns about vaccine safety.
Samoan officials later said Kennedy’s trip bolstered the credibility of anti-vaccine activists ahead of the measles outbreak that sickened thousands and killed 83 people, mostly children under age five.
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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/09/rfk-jr-samoa-trip-senate-confirmation
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