Kennedy to deliver keynote for anti-vaccine group he once led

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is scheduled to give a keynote address at a Children's Health Defense conference at the Grand Hyatt Washington on Thursday, publicly embracing the anti-vaccine nonprofit he once led. CHD announced the appearance in an email, saying, 'We couldn't be more excited to welcome our founder back to the CHD stage.' The event marks a full-circle moment for Kennedy, who joined the group in 2015.

Kennedy chaired Children's Health Defense until December 2024, earning a six-figure salary and helping file dozens of lawsuits targeting state-level vaccine policies, according to his financial disclosures. He took leave from CHD during his presidential campaign and severed ties permanently shortly before President Trump took office. The group questions the efficacy and safety of childhood vaccines.

Through Kennedy, CHD has gained unprecedented access to political levers of power. Ideas central to the group that were once considered fringe, including the disproven theory that vaccines cause autism, have been echoed by Trump in the White House. CHD leaders, such as attorney Mary Holland, have attended high-profile MAHA gatherings in Washington and gained positions within the Department of Health and Human Services.

The CHD conference will be Kennedy's first public embrace of the group since he took the helm of HHS, a marked shift from January 2025, when he promised senators he would not do anything to discourage Americans from getting vaccines. During his confirmation hearings, Kennedy tried to distance himself from CHD and his prior anti-vaccine activism to secure key Republican votes. In one memorable exchange, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) grilled Kennedy with images of 'Unvaxxed, Unafraid' onesies sold by CHD and repeatedly asked if he supported them; Kennedy responded, 'I am supportive of vaccines,' and added that he had 'no power' over the nonprofit.