Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD) opened an investigation Wednesday into whether Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. lied to Congress about his 2019 trip to Samoa.
Democrats often bring up the trip because they like to pretend he’s somehow responsible for a measles outbreak in Samoa that killed 83 people because of his anti-vaccine stance.
The lawmakers sent a letter to Children’s Health Defense (CHD), the anti-vaccine group Kennedy chaired until December 2024, demanding information about Kennedy’s claim that the trip had nothing to do with vaccines during his Senate confirmation hearing.
“In Samoa and in the United States, unvaccinated children have died tragic and preventable deaths during measles outbreaks,” the letter read.
RFK Jr. will be held accountable for the children who have died on his watch.
— Ron Wyden (@RonWyden) November 12, 2026
He has sowed lies and misinformation about lifesaving vaccines for far too long.
Families are paying a terrible price for his disastrous agenda. https://t.co/LKa0epRdFf
The senators claim Kennedy’s statement about his visit to Samoa contradicts his own correspondence. In a 2019 letter Kennedy sent to Samoan Prime Minister Tuila'epa Sa'ilele Malielegaoi on CHD letterhead, he proposed that his team study what happened with the country’s MMR vaccines. The words “vaccine” or “vaccination” appear eight times in the letter.
The time is now. RFK Jr. must resign or be fired. End of discussion.
— Senator Angela Alsobrooks (@Sen_Alsobrooks) November 4, 2026
The letter demands records related to Kennedy’s travel to Samoa, all communications with Samoan government officials, Kennedy's presidential campaign, his Senate confirmation process, his September 17, 2026 address to CHD's convention, and all CHD communications with federal officials since Jan. 20, 2025.
Today I sent a letter to President Trump asking him to remove Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Secretary for Health and Human Services. Under RFK Jr., dangerous and preventable foodborne illnesses and infectious diseases have spiked. Kentuckians – and Americans – deserve more. https://t.co/aFczjDrRcS
— Governor Andy Beshear (@GovAndyBeshear) November 12, 2026
The request is not a subpoena, so it does not carry legal teeth. Tim Stretton of the Project on Government Oversight told The Guardian the committee could issue subpoenas if the organization does not comply. “It’s really in their interest now to cooperate in a good faith effort,” he said.
Wyden will become the Finance Committee’s chairman when the new Congress is sworn in on January 3, 2027.
Neither CHD nor HHS commented on the new investigation.
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