Photo :webshot. 

May 20, 2025

AndrewCampbell

U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appears before a House Appropriations Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Subcommittee hearing on the Department of Health and Human Services budget on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on May 14.

Public health experts have condemned Kennedy for an outbreak that has infected over 1,000 people, the majority of whom have not been vaccinated, and killed three. Kennedy has long questioned the safety and efficacy of vaccinations. Senators attacked his actions as a weak endorsement of measles vaccinations.

Kennedy also followed part of the Trump administration's campaign to reduce the federal workforce. Since being approved as Secretary of Health and Human Services in February, Kennedy has cut 10,000 jobs, including at the FDA, CDC, and National Institutes of Health.