Can I trust RFK Junior?

Whether you can trust RFK Jr. depends on your concerns, but documented controversies raise significant questions about his credibility, particularly regarding vaccine and public health policy.

Public trust has declined sharply since RFK Jr. became HHS Secretary. Trust in the CDC for accurate vaccine information dropped from 63% in September 2023 to 47% as of early 2026[2]. Among Democrats specifically, trust fell from 88% to 55%, and among independents from 61% to 46%[2].

Key concerns about his credibility include:

• Vaccine committee restructuring: In June 2025, he removed all 17 members of the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and replaced them with individuals who "typically hold more vaccine-skeptical views"[2]. Congressional members criticized this as replacing "the previously esteemed Advisory Committee" with his "hand-picked" panel[3].

• History of disputed health claims: Kennedy previously published material connecting thimerosal to autism—pieces that were later pulled from publication because "the data it relied on were inaccurate or taken out of context"[4]. A book he published on the same topic "received similarly scathing reviews from experts for misstating data and exaggerating risks"[4].

• Policy decisions questioned as ideologically driven: Congress members and medical experts have characterized recent vaccine policy changes as "arbitrary and driven by ideology" rather than science[3], with concerns that decisions were made "without any substantive input from scientific experts like infectious disease specialists, epidemiologists, and pediatricians"[3].

• Transparency concerns: Critics state that "senior federal health officials repeatedly misstate evidence, fail to answer direct questions, change policy without open discussion"[4].

Over 55% of Americans disapprove of his performance as HHS Secretary[2].