# Senators probe RFK Jr.’s reason for Samoa trip after letter refuting his testimony published

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/senators-probe-rfk-jr-s-reason-for-samoa-trip-after-letter-refuting-his-testimony-published/
- Published: 2026-11-13T00:50:18+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-13T01:21:10+00:00
- Original publisher: PBS NewsHour (publisher lean: Centre)
- Original article: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/senators-probe-rfk-jr-s-reason-for-samoa-trip-after-letter-refuting-his-testimony-published
- Topics: Government, Politics

## Key points

- Two senators are investigating Kennedy’s account of his 2019 Samoa trip.
- A pre-trip letter mentioned vaccines or vaccination eight times.
- Samoa’s later measles outbreak killed 83 people, mostly young children.

## Summary

Two Democratic senators have opened an investigation into whether Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. misled Congress about a 2019 visit to Samoa. The inquiry follows documents published by the Associated Press and The Guardian that appear to conflict with Kennedy’s claim during his confirmation process that the trip had nothing to do with vaccines.

Senators Ron Wyden and Angela Alsobrooks asked Children’s Health Defense, the anti-vaccine group Kennedy formerly chaired, for records about the trip, his 2024 presidential campaign and his confirmation, as well as communications with federal officials since January 2025. They set a 4 December deadline. A letter Kennedy sent Samoa’s prime minister before the visit mentioned vaccines or vaccination eight times and proposed studying the use of the MMR vaccine; Samoa later suffered a measles outbreak that killed 83 people, mostly children under five. The Department of Health and Human Services denies the trip was vaccine-related, and Kennedy was not under oath at his confirmation hearing.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.