Shaughnessy Naughton of 314 Action Calls on Secretary Kennedy to Resign Following Health Secretary’s Return To Children’s Health Defense
In the middle of the largest and deadliest measles outbreak in a generation, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy delivered the keynote address at the Children’s Health Defense conference, continuing his legacy of promoting vaccine skepticism. Kennedy was featured alongside the discredited former physician whose 1998 paper falsely linked vaccines to autism. After the speech, Shaughnessy Naughton, President and Founder of 314 Action, the nation’s largest organization working to recruit and train scientist candidates for public office, called on Kennedy to resign.
“This week, RFK Jr. had a choice: use his megaphone to combat misinformation and save lives, or return to his roots as a promoter of vaccine lies. Instead of reminding Americans to get the MMR shot and stop vulnerable people from dying of measles-complications, Secretary Kennedy gave the keynote speech at CHD. His choice shows once again the lack of seriousness he brings to HHS. With a deadly measles outbreak killing people in Pennsylvania, the best thing Kennedy can do for Americans is step aside.”
Kennedy is the co-founder and former top lawyer for Children’s Health Defense, a leading anti-vaccine organization. Thursday’s keynote marks his most visible homecoming since taking office. During his tenure at CHD, Kennedy sued vaccine manufacturers and challenged state vaccine laws, building a launchpad for his presidential campaign.
His appearance coincides with the nation’s largest measles outbreak in 35 years. Pennsylvania’s Department of Health reported 731 cases across 38 counties and four measles-associated deaths. The latest death was an 18-year-old from Mifflin County who died of a rare measles brain complication this week. Playing politics with American lives, Kennedy’s CDC excluded the Pennsylvania deaths from its official national tally, and Kennedy himself accused the governor’s office of fabricating the deaths on social media.
“In his closing remarks, RFK Jr. emphasized that CHD has a ‘strong and steadfast friend at the White House.’ But his job, President Trump’s job, is not to appease fringe groups using discredited science to advance their cause,” said Naughton. “RFK Jr. is a trial attorney who makes a case and then tries to build it by sowing doubt. The consequences of that in the middle of a measles outbreak are deadly. We need a health secretary who will follow scientific consensus, and tell the truth about how to stop this outbreak. If Kennedy cannot do that, he should resign.”
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