Trump presses RFK Jr. for more autism research during Cabinet meeting
Washington Examiner · RC · trust 59/100
President Donald Trump is ramping up pressure on Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to study the alleged connection between vaccines and autism, switching course after senior administration advisers have tried to steer Kennedy away from the controversial topic before the 2026 midterm elections.
During the first-ever televised Cabinet meeting at Camp David on Friday, Trump pointedly asked Kennedy, “How are you doing on the autism research?”
“We will have an answer for you,” Kennedy said.
“So important,” Trump said, not letting Kennedy finish his second sentence on the subject. “We’ll be talking about that. We’ll be having something of interest.”
The brief exchange, juxtaposed with updates from War Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio about conflicts abroad, highlights the priority that Trump places on autism research despite the effort by White House senior advisers to avoid the topic in hopes of not alienating voters.
TRUMP: How are you doing on the autism research? RFK Jr: We will have an answer for you pic.twitter.com/32aa4y2rxC
White House advisers began pushing for Kennedy and his team for less publicity on vaccine policy after Trump-favorite pollster Fabrizio Ward in December found majorities of Republican voters continue to see vaccines as the best defense against many infectious diseases.
But Trumpworld insiders who spoke with the Wall Street Journal earlier this week said Trump has been pressuring Kennedy behind the scenes to do more to reduce the number of vaccines children in the United States receive and to probe the alleged connection between vaccines and autism.
Roughly 1 in 31 children in the U.S. were diagnosed with autism in 2022, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s up from about 1 in 150 in 2000. Although scientists have not identified a definitive cause for rising rates, some have suggested genetics, older parents, and better screening systems are likely behind the increase.
During an October press conference last year, Trump said he believed children should not get the hepatitis B vaccine shortly after birth, as has been recommended since the 1990s , and instead should wait until they are 12. Trump also suggested that the Food and Drug Administration “break up” the measles, mumps, and rubella, or MMR, vaccine.
White House spokesman Kush Desai told Axios parents who have concerns about “skyrocketing autism rates have long been ignored if not mocked.”
“That changed the day President Trump took office, and the Trump administration is committed to leaving no stone unturned to finally address these concerns with Gold Standard Science,” Desai said.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks during a cabinet meeting, Friday, July 31, 2026, at Camp David, the presidential retreat, near Thurmont, Md., Friday, July 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Since January, the administration has made sizable personnel and policy shifts away from the vaccine skepticism side of the “Make America Healthy Again,” or MAHA, movement.
Several top officials with more traditional views on public health have risen in the ranks at HHS, most notably Chris Klomp, the former Medicare director who was nominated in June to become second-in-command as deputy HHS secretary.
Trump also nominated Dr. Erica Schwartz for CDC director after the agency has spent most of the president’s second term without a permanent head. During the pandemic, in the first Trump administration, Schwartz ran the national COVID-19 testing program as deputy surgeon general.
Some of the president’s more controversial nominees, including his pick for surgeon general, Dr. Casey Means, were blocked during the Senate confirmation process because of their beliefs about vaccines and autism.
HHS has also taken great pains to emphasize the food policy elements of the MAHA agenda, rather than the vaccine skepticism element. On Thursday, Kennedy launched a new traveling cooking show produced by HHS to highlight the new Dietary Guidelines for Americans healthy food recommendations. The first episode highlighted cost-effective salmon dishes in a nod to the higher protein recommendations.
President Donald Trump speaks during a cabinet meeting, Friday, July 31, 2026, at Camp David, the presidential retreat, near Thurmont, Md., Friday, July 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Shifting again toward more aggressive vaccine policy issues during the remainder of 2026 could jeopardize getting other HHS nominees through the Senate confirmation process while Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) is chairman of the Senate health committee.
Cassidy, who lost his reelection bid in May in part due to his clashing with Kennedy on vaccines, has been attempting to use his position to gain assurances from HHS officials that they will not hinder access to vaccines or limit vaccine research.
On Thursday, Cassidy voted to advance Schwartz and Sean Kaufman, Trump’s choice to lead the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, on the condition that the administration will take steps to stop undermining confidence in vaccines by “pushing the dangerous lie that vaccines are related to autism.”
“After multiple conversations with senior HHS officials, several actions have been taken and will be taken to address these concerns, including key personnel changes and better oversight to ensure that science, not ideology, is driving decision-making,” Cassidy said.
Of particular issue for Cassidy is the CDC webpage that casts speculation on the decades of research debunking the link between vaccines and autism. The webpage, as of Friday, still says that the claim vaccines do not cause autism “is not an evidence-based claim because studies have not ruled out the possibility that infant vaccines cause autism.”
Cassidy said there will be “future leverage points for this committee over future appointees if these commitments are not kept.”
After Cassidy’s…
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