--- title: RFK Jr Says People Should Not Take Medical Advice From Him description: Kennedy distances himself from vaccine guidance while defending budget cuts. canonical: https://time.com/7285480/rfk-vaccines-measles-advice/ author: Rebecca Schneid article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2025-05-14T20:32:10.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-19T07:52:27.722Z article:section: Politics og:title: RFK Jr Says People Should Not Take Medical Advice From Him og:description: Kennedy distances himself from vaccine guidance while defending budget cuts og:url: https://time.com/7285480/rfk-vaccines-measles-advice/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt93db8fbe7d4ac7f7/6998c6a07323af80c12bc843/GettyImages-2214437107.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: Robert F. Kennedy House Budget Hearing in Washington DC og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: RFK Jr Says People Should Not Take Medical Advice From Him twitter:description: Kennedy distances himself from vaccine guidance while defending budget cuts twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt93db8fbe7d4ac7f7/6998c6a07323af80c12bc843/GettyImages-2214437107.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Says Americans Should Not Take Medical Advice From Him > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=d7bae9b9-1220-4f7c-ab58-6f21092164a0&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Says Americans Should Not Take Medical Advice From Him [Watch (HLS stream): Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Says Americans Should Not Take Medical Advice From Him](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/hmZW8JyL.m3u8) (1:41)  _Published 2025-05-14. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the Health and Human Services (HHS) Director under the Trump Administration, told Congress on Wednesday that he believes people “shouldn’t be taking medical advice from him”. The comments were made at a House Appropriations Committee hearing on May 14, as the committee reviewed the Trump Administration’s 2026 budget request, which was released on May 2._  by [Rebecca Schneid](https://time.com/author/rebecca-schneid/)  ## Rebecca Schneid Reporter May 14, 2025 8:32 PM UTC Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the Health and Human Services (HHS) Director under the Trump Administration, told Congress on Wednesday that he believes people “shouldn’t be taking medical advice from \[him\]”. The comments were made at a House Appropriations Committee hearing on May 14, as the committee reviewed the Trump Administration’s 2026 budget request, which was released on May 2.  by [Rebecca Schneid](https://time.com/author/rebecca-schneid/)  ## Rebecca Schneid Reporter May 14, 2025 8:32 PM UTC [Robert F. Kennedy Jr.](https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2025/7273787/robert-f-kennedy-jr/), the Health and Human Services (HHS) Director under the Trump Administration, told Congress on Wednesday that he believes people “shouldn’t be taking medical advice from \[him\]”. The comments were made at a House Appropriations Committee hearing on May 14, as the committee reviewed the Trump Administration’s [2026 budget request](https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/2025/05/the-white-house-office-of-management-and-budget-releases-the-presidents-fiscal-year-2026-skinny-budget/), which was released on May 2\. During the hearing, Wisconsin Rep. Mark Pocan asked Kennedy whether, if he had a child now, he would vaccinate them for measles. “Probably for measles,” Kennedy said before backtracking. “I don’t think people should be taking advice — medical advice — from me….I think if I answer that question directly, it will seem like I'm giving advice to other people, and I don't want to be doing that.” Kennedy has been [known for his controversial stances on vaccines,](https://time.com/6289037/robert-f-kennedy-jr-wrong-about-vaccines/) raising questions about vaccine safety. Since being tapped to lead HHS, he has tried to distance himself from the [anti-vaccine movement](https://time.com/7210943/rfk-confirmation-hearing-vaccines/) and recently backed vaccination as a preventive tool during a measles outbreak. He still maintains however, that vaccines should be left to parents’ discretion, and has continued to [spread misinformation about the measles vaccine.](https://www.nbcnews.com/health/kids-health/health-secretary-rfk-jr-measles-vaccine-falsely-claims-wanes-rcna200636) “Okay, but that’s kind of your jurisdiction, because the CDC \[Center for Disease Control\] does give advice,” Pocan responded. The CDC provides guidance on disease prevention, the development of best health practices, and providing access to immunizations. The hearing focused on proposed deep cuts to health services in the Administration's “Skinny Budget,” seeking $94 billion for the HHS agencies— a reduction of about 26% from the 2025 level. The budget also aims to cut programs and staff at several HHS agencies, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the CDC. The budget also proposes $500 million for Kennedy’s [“Make America Healthy Again”](https://www.hhs.gov/press-room/hhs-restructuring-doge.html) initiative, which includes downsizing the HHS from 82,000 to 62,000 full-time employees, and focusing on “ending America’s epidemic of chronic illness.” ## Transcript [00:00] You've previously said you vaccinated your children just because. [00:03] I think this is a helpful answer and this isn't a gotcha. I promise. [00:06] Um, if you had a child today, [00:08] would you vaccinate that child for measles? [00:10] For measles? Um, probably for measles. [00:16] I you know, what I would say is my opinions about vaccines are irrelevant. [00:22] I've directed Jay Bhattacharya. [00:25] Sure. No. Like I said, I don't want to. [00:27] So that everybody can make that decision. [00:29] But I, you know, I don't want to seem like I'm being evasive. [00:32] Yeah. [00:33] But I don't think people should be taking advice. [00:36] Medical advice from me. [00:38] No, I got that. And I'm not asking you to give them advice, [00:40] but would you vaccinate your child for measles? [00:42] Answer that question directly, [00:45] and it will seem like I'm giving advice to other people. [00:48] And I don't want to be doing that. I want people to make. [00:50] But that's kind of your jurisdiction because CDC does give advice. [00:53] Right. I'm not trying to do it as a gotcha. I was just kind of. [00:55] What I think what we're going to try to do is to lay out the pros and cons, [01:01] the risks and benefits accurately as we understand them. [01:05] Okay. [01:06] With reputable studies. [01:08] Would you can you talk about chickenpox? [01:10] Would you vaccinate your child against chickenpox? [01:13] Uh, I again I don't want to give advice. [01:18] I can tell you in Europe they don't use the chickenpox vaccine [01:21] specifically because the pre-clinical trials [01:25] shows that when you inoculate the population from chickenpox, [01:28] you get shingles in older people, which is more dangerous? [01:32] One last one. Just a yes or no, [01:34] please, if we could. Polio. [01:36] Polio again? [01:38] I don't want to be giving advice. [01:40] That's fair. No. That's fair. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/7285480/rfk-vaccines-measles-advice/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/7285480/rfk-vaccines-measles-advice/"},"headline":"Robert F. 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