Autism and vaccines recur across Kennedy's congressional hearings
Why it matters
The autism-vaccine question is no longer confined to advocacy conferences. It now surfaces in sworn testimony before House and Senate committees, and how the Secretary and other nominees answer under oath goes straight into the public record.
The autism-and-vaccine question has repeatedly surfaced in congressional hearings involving HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and administration nominees. In his September 4, 2025 Senate Finance Committee testimony, Kennedy faced pointed questions about his vaccine-safety rhetoric and his plans to overhaul the CDC.
At an April 17, 2026 House Education and Workforce Committee hearing, Kennedy defended his emphasis on environmental causes of autism. And in a February 2026 Senate HELP Committee hearing, Surgeon General nominee Casey Means declined to state unequivocally that vaccines do not cause autism.
Critics say the recurring exchanges give a scientifically settled question the appearance of an open debate. What matters for the record is that these exchanges happened under oath, before Congress, and sit in the transcript regardless of how any one witness framed them.
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