RFK Jr: Don't take health advice from me
Robert F Kennedy Jr, Donald Trump's health secretary, has said that people should not come to him for health advice.
Speaking at a House select committee hearing on Wednesday morning, Mr Kennedy told lawmakers: 'I don't want to seem like I'm being evasive, but I don't think people should be taking medical advice, from me.'
His comments came in response to a question from Representative Mark Pocan, a Wisconsin Democrat, on whether the department of health and human services (HHS) head, would today vaccinate his own children against measles.
Mr Kennedy's vaccine scepticism has come under fresh scrutiny in recent weeks as the US faces its biggest measles outbreak in decades, with more than 1,000 confirmed cases and three deaths, according to the Centre for Disease Control.
Mr Kennedy said he would 'probably' give his child a measles jab, before stating that his personal views on the matter are 'irrelevant'.
He added that he had directed Jay Battacharia, the director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to try to 'lay out the pros and cons, the risks and benefits, accurately as we understand them, with replicable studies,' for people to 'make that decision'.
'I think if I answer that question directly, that it will seem like I'm giving advice to other people, and I don't want to be doing that,' Mr Kennedy said, to which Mr Pocan responded: 'That's kind of your jurisdiction.'
The health secretary went on to refuse to answer whether he would have his child vaccinated for chickenpox or polio if he had a newborn today.
The exchange came during a House appropriations committee hearing where Mr Kennedy was grilled on the fast-growing measles outbreak and cuts to top health agencies.
The administration's spending bill plans for 2026 include an $18 billion cut to NIH funding and $3.6 billion from the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
At the same time, the president's budget aims to funnel $500 million into Mr Kennedy's 'Make America Health Again' initiative geared towards tackling the 'chronic disease epidemic'.
Mr Kennedy testified that health agencies are handling the measles outbreak better than other nations and maintained that staffing cuts at HHS have not impacted key health programmes.
It comes after Mr Kennedy sparked outrage for going swimming with his grandchildren at a creek in Washington DC's Rock Creek Park, which is known for containing raw sewage.
On Sunday, the health secretary shared an image on X of his grandchildren playing in the creek while out on a mothers' day stroll.
The National Park Service (NPS) said on its website that 'Rock Creek has high levels of bacteria and other infectious pathogens that make swimming, wading, and other contact with the water a hazard to human (and pet) health'.
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