Trump Pressures Health Secretary RFK Jr to Accelerate Vaccine Policy Changes

President Donald Trump is reportedly urging Health and Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to take more aggressive steps in scaling back routine vaccinations in the United States, according to recent reporting from the Wall Street Journal.

While Trump has long expressed skepticism toward vaccines, the White House had previously paused major vaccine policy shifts due to concerns over their political vulnerability ahead of the midterm elections.

Kennedy, who leads the Department of Health and Human Services, recently made headlines by significantly reducing the standard childhood immunization schedule—a move that drew both praise from vaccine skeptics and criticism from public health experts.

According to the Journal, Trump met with Kennedy at his golf club in northern Virginia in May, where he questioned whether the health secretary was moving quickly enough on vaccine reforms. The president reportedly used the phrase “yips” to describe what he saw as hesitation in implementing deeper cuts to the vaccination program.

The metaphor, borrowed from golf, was not about sports performance but rather a critique of Kennedy’s perceived reluctance to accelerate changes to the nation’s vaccination guidelines.

Trump has indicated that addressing autism—through vaccine policy—is something he wants to include in his presidential legacy. However, his approach has clashed with the more cautious pace adopted by Kennedy in recent months.

“Donald Trump has held anti-vaccine views since at least 2015,” noted Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. During that year’s Republican primary debate, Trump suggested that autism had become “totally out of control” and proposed spacing out vaccine doses over time.

Since then, Trump has frequently used social media platforms—including Truth Social—to promote theories linking vaccines to autism, despite decades of scientific research refuting such claims. His recent posts have advocated for administering vaccines individually rather than in combination and delaying certain childhood shots well beyond recommended timelines.

Polling conducted by Tony Fabrizio, one of Trump’s top advisors, found that anti-vaccine messaging tends to alienate voters in competitive districts. In a memo released in December, Fabrizio warned that “vaccine skepticism is politically risky for both parties,” prompting the White House to delay further action until after the midterms.

Despite this, Trump issued a directive in May instructing HHS to align U.S. vaccine policies with those of other developed nations—even though American guidelines already largely mirrored international standards.

Following the directive, Kennedy moved to reduce the number of recommended childhood vaccines from 17 to 11—a dramatic reduction that sparked legal challenges. In March, a federal judge temporarily blocked the changes after the American Academy of Pediatrics filed suit, citing procedural violations. The ruling also suspended operations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), which had been restructured under Kennedy’s leadership without proper authorization.

Since the court intervention, Kennedy has made no additional modifications to the vaccine schedule, though he continues to advocate publicly for investigations into autism’s causes. The administration is currently appealing the judge’s decision.

In another controversial proposal, Kennedy sought to redirect over $5 billion—more than 10% of the National Institutes of Health budget—toward research exploring connections between vaccines and autism, according to Reuters.

This push runs counter to extensive scientific consensus. Decades of research have consistently shown that autism is primarily influenced by genetic factors, with no credible evidence supporting a causal relationship with vaccines.

Nonetheless, Trump signed an executive order in May reaffirming his support for revisiting vaccine recommendations, underscoring his ongoing commitment to vaccine reform despite mounting opposition from medical professionals and public health officials.

When questioned about the Journal’s findings, White House spokesperson Kush Desai declined to dispute the details. Instead, he emphasized the administration’s dedication to listening to families affected by autism, stating that many had been “ignored or mocked” in the past. Desai added that the White House remained “committed to leaving no stone unturned” in seeking answers.

HHS spokesperson Emily Hilliard echoed this sentiment, saying that both Trump and Kennedy share a “commitment to confronting the chronic disease epidemic affecting America’s children.” She stated that the department would continue pursuing “evidence-based research” to uncover the root causes of autism and related conditions.

Dr. Offit believes that Trump’s stance on vaccines reflects a deeply held conviction. “He genuinely believes vaccines cause autism,” Offit said. “That makes him the most influential anti-vaccine figure globally—and it explains why he’s unlikely to remove Kennedy from office, regardless of internal tensions.”

Offit warns that the real legacy of this administration may not be scientific progress but a resurgence of preventable diseases. Measles cases have risen sharply, reaching levels not seen in three decades, while outbreaks of whooping cough, flu, and tetanus have also increased.

“Our commander-in-chief is essentially the nation’s top advocate for vaccine hesitancy,” Offit said. “And RFK Jr stands beside him. This should raise serious concerns—not just for public health experts, but for every parent watching their child go unprotected.”

“Trump has turned America into ‘Measles Land,’” Offit concluded. “And that should trouble him.”

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