RFK Jr. to headline Children’s Health Defense conference in DC

Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is scheduled to give a keynote address this week at a conference for Children’s Health Defense, the anti-vaccine advocacy organization he co-founded and led prior to becoming head of the nation’s health agency.

For the past year Kennedy has worked to distance himself from the efforts of Children’s Health Defense, a group that questions the safety and efficacy of childhood vaccines and is a leading force of the anti-vaccination movement.

During his Senate confirmation hearing in January 2025, Kennedy sought to reassure lawmakers that he would not undermine public confidence in vaccines and maintained he was not anti-vaccine.

During one memorable exchange, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) displayed images of baby onesies sold by the anti-vaccine organization that read “Unvaxxed, Unafraid” and “No Vax, No Problem.”

“Are you supportive of these onesies?” Sanders asked.

Kennedy said he had nothing to do with the merchandise and noted he had resigned from the group.

“I am supportive of vaccines,” Kennedy said at the time.

Thursday’s conference in Washington, D.C., marks Kennedy’s first appearance at an official Children’s Health Defense conference since he joined the Trump administration, but the group now wields significant political clout.

Kennedy did not attend the group’s national conference last year.

Leaders of the organization have been hired in prominent positions at HHS, and views that were once considered fringe — like a false and debunked link between vaccines and autism — have become mainstream in the Trump administration, oftentimes echoed by President Trump himself.

HHS did not immediately return a request for comment.

Thursday’s event is touted as a way to “highlight the work of key government officials and individuals who are advocating for transparency, accountability and justice in the area of public health.”

It comes amid unprecedented efforts by Trump and HHS to roll back childhood vaccines and downplay the severity of vaccine-preventable disease outbreaks — notably measles.

Aside from Kennedy, the event will feature speeches from lawmakers including Republican Sens. Ron Johnson (Wis.) and Rand Paul (Ky.), as well as GOP Reps. Paul Gosar (Ariz.) and Thomas Massie (Ky.).

The event will also feature Andrew Wakefield, a doctor whose medical license was revoked and who is credited with starting the argument that modern vaccines cause autism.

Kennedy joined the World Mercury Project, a nonprofit that pressed to remove mercury from vaccines in 2015. He rebranded it as Children’s Health Defense and served as its chair and top lawyer until 2024, when he stepped down to run for president.

He earned a six-figure salary at the organization and millions more helping to sue vaccine makers and challenge state-level vaccine policies.

The group promotes anti-immunization views as part of its goal to end chronic health conditions in children by “eliminating toxic exposures.”