Health policy
Senators investigate Kennedy’s testimony about Samoa trip
Wyden and Alsobrooks are seeking records from Children’s Health Defense about Kennedy’s 2019 Samoa trip and his statements during confirmation hearings.
Sens. Ron Wyden and Angela Alsobrooks said they are investigating whether Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. misled Congress about his reason for a 2019 trip to Samoa. The senators requested records from Children’s Health Defense, the group Kennedy formerly chaired, including documents about his Samoa travel, presidential campaign and Senate confirmation process, and communications with federal officials since Jan. 20, 2025.
The inquiry follows reports by the Guardian and the Associated Press that a 2019 letter Kennedy sent to Samoa’s prime minister said he wanted to study the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine. Kennedy told lawmakers during his 2025 confirmation hearings that the trip had nothing to do with vaccines. The trip took place months before a measles outbreak in Samoa that killed 83 people, mostly children under age five. HHS has said the visit was unrelated to vaccines and denied that Kennedy lied to Congress. The senators’ letter requests records but does not carry the force of a subpoena.
