How RFK Jr. and Trump Policies Endanger the Health of Children

Robert Kennedy Jr. may claim to advocate for “making America healthy again,” but his policies, particularly his anti-vaccination stance, his embrace of Donald Trump but silence on Trump’s efforts to slash Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and to undermine efforts to do anything about improving gun safety, threatens the health and well-being of children.

RFK Jr. Promotes Vaccine Misinformation

First, vaccinations have been among the most effective public health interventions in human history, preventing countless deaths from diseases such as polio, measles, and smallpox. The lives of millions of children have been saved and debilitating conditions prevented by immunizations.

By spreading vaccine misinformation and promoting fear and hesitancy, RFK Jr.’s actions directly counter genuine attempts to “make America healthy again.” His anti-vaccine rhetoric threatens to unravel decades of public health progress and jeopardizes the health of children. In fact, due to declining childhood vaccination rates, we are witnessing outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases in this country. For example, according to the Oregon Health and Science University:

Oregon is experiencing its largest measles outbreak in more than 30 years, mirroring a trend this year of rising measles cases across the United States. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports there have been 13 outbreaks of measles already this year with 43% of the cases requiring hospitalization compared to just 4 outbreaks in all of 2023.

This trend is deeply disturbing because as Nipunie Rajapakse of the Mayo Clinic explains:

Measles used to be a relatively common childhood illness. Since we've introduced very effective immunization, measles is quite rare to see here in the U.S. It can infect the brain, for example, resulting in something called encephalitis. It can cause severe pneumonia. We're trying to avoid these complications by vaccinating children before they get sick with it.

We should do more to ensure greater access to childhood vaccinations, health care, and health information – not less, as RFK Jr. is advocating.

Ironically, RFK Jr.’s anti-vax position contrasts sharply with his uncle, President John F. Kennedy, who recognized the vital role of safeguarding public health. For example, in 1962, JFK signed the Vaccination Assistance Act, a landmark piece of legislation aimed at promoting widespread immunization against diseases like polio. This Act laid the foundation for the modern-day vaccine programs that, again, have saved millions of lives.

As President Kennedy explained in a message to Congress on Feb. 27, 1962:

There is no longer any reason why American children should suffer from polio, diphtheria, whooping cough, or tetanus – diseases which can cause death or serious consequences throughout a lifetime, which can be prevented, but which still prevail in too many cases.

I am asking the American people to join in a nationwide vaccination program to stamp out these four diseases, encouraging all communities to immunize but children and adults, keep them immunized, and plan for the routine immunization of children yet to be born… This program would cover the full cost of vaccines for all children under five years of age.

Instead of promoting fear about vaccines, which other members of his family condemn, a real health and safety agenda for children would seek to expand access to immunizations.

Trump and RFK Jr. would do the opposite.

RFK Jr. Ignores the Importance of Medicaid, CHIP, and the ACA for Children’s Health

While Robert Kennedy Jr. has raised valid concerns about chronic disease over the years, his silence and complicity with Donald Trump’s efforts to dismantle critical health care programs like Medicaid, CHIP, and the ACA expose his failure to do what is best for children, particularly those with chronic illnesses.

These programs are the very lifelines that millions of children and families rely on for basic healthcare access, preventive services, and chronic disease management. Trump’s attempts to block grant and slash these essential health coverage programs with hundreds of billions of dollars in cuts would have disproportionately harmed children and exacerbate the chronic health crises that Kennedy Jr. claims to care about.

The simple fact is that you cannot combat the rise in chronic illness while simultaneously supporting policies that restrict access to health care for millions of children. Medicaid, CHIP, and the ACA play a critical role in preventing and managing chronic diseases, providing early interventions, and reducing long-term health disparities.

For example, Medicaid is the largest provider of health insurance for children in the United States, covering nearly 40% of all children. It provides essential healthcare services, including immunizations, regular check-ups, screenings, and treatments for chronic illnesses like asthma and diabetes. Without Medicaid, millions of children would be left without access to the healthcare services they need to thrive, putting them at higher risk of developing preventable conditions and exacerbating existing ones.

Unfortunately, during the 2017 health care debate, House Republicans imply that children are not one of “Medicaid’s priorities.”

Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) documents obtained by American Oversight related to Medicaid cap negotiations in 2017 revealed that Dennis Smith, an advisor to Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchison, proposed disproportionately cutting Medicaid for children, sparing the elderly and disabled. Smith wrote to Trump’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Seema Verma urging:

As you know, Gov. Hutchinson remains concerned about including disabled and elderly under the [proposed Medicaid] caps. therefore, have drafted to cover children and adults. hope that is helpful.

As the legislation moved from the House to the Senate, President Trump supported these changes. Consequently, the Senate proposal that would have cut a projected 31% from children in Medicaid. Millions of children would have lost health coverage or had their care vastly limited and rationed, particularly children with special health care needs.

In a statement by Dr. Fernando Stein with the American Academy of Pediatrics explaining the pediatricians’ opposition to the Senate proposal, he explains:

Throughout this debate, pediatricians have spoken up for and advocated alongside children whose health hangs in the balance of the harmful policies of this proposal and the bills that came before it. These are real families with real stories whose lives will be turned upside down if these policies advance. We count on our legislators to support policies that put children first, and this proposal leaves them worse off.

Fortunately, the Senate failed to pass these arbitrary Medicaid caps and billions in cuts by just one vote when Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) gave it a thumbs down.

Does RFK Jr. not care these caps and cuts are once again being proposed by Trump advisors?

CHIP was also under enormous attack during the Trump Administration. RFK Jr.’s lack of concern for CHIP is particularly disappointing here since one of CHIP’s leading architects was none other than his uncle, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA).

Not only did the Trump Administration repeatedly propose billions in cuts to CHIP in its budget, but the Administration allowed CHIP to expire for over 130 days – threatening the care and well-being of millions of children – in 2017 and 2018.

In an Op-Ed in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Myra Gregory described the threat that the CHIP funding expiration posed for her 11-year-old son Roland, who was diagnosed with lung cancer earlier this year. In the editorial, Gregory wrote:

I understand that our society is divided right now. I understand that Republicans and Democrats can have honest differences of opinion. What I cannot understand is how the U.S. Congress could make the health security of kids like Roland a guessing game, and their lives bargaining chips. Watching my baby fight for his life this past year has been agonizing. I’ve held him in my arms while he cries in pain, I’ve experienced anxiety and stress I thought I would never overcome, and I have had to have conversations with Roland’s younger brothers that no child should have to have. I have always known that our situation could get worse, but I never imagined that Congress would be an obstacle in my son’s battle with cancer.

Just days after CHIP was finally reauthorized, the Trump Administration then proposed a raid of $7 billion out of CHIP and an attack on those seeking to protect the health of children.

Fortunately, opposition to slashing billions of dollars out of CHIP was swift and bipartisan. As Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) explained:

There are plenty of other places we should cut before we touch health care for children. This important program provides peace of mind to families that if their children get sick they will get the medical attention they need.

He added:

This is a tremendously successful program that serves 9 million kids nationwide and 375,000 in Florida. The White House proposal undermines a bipartisan CHIP agreement reached earlier this year and removes reassurances states need that funding will be available to keep kids covered.

In short, RFK Jr.’s so-called advocacy for children’s health rings hollow when he fails to address the devastating impact that Trump’s health care policies would have on children’s health coverage.

His silence about Trump’s efforts to slash Medicaid, CHIP, and the ACA suggests a selective approach to health care — one that ignores the very programs that provide essential care to the children most at risk of developing chronic diseases. Although RFK Jr.’s focus on chronic illness is an important debate to have, health insurance and access to care are fundamental to the health and well-being of children.

We should be expanding health coverage to all children rather than supporting policies that would increase the number of uninsured kids.

RFK’s Failure to Protect America's Children

Robert Kennedy Jr.’s rhetoric around improving public health is dangerously misaligned with the policies he supports and the leaders he endorses. His anti-vaccine misinformation campaign jeopardizes children’s health by reversing decades of immunization progress, contributing to the resurgence of preventable diseases like measles.

His complicity in Donald Trump’s efforts to dismantle critical healthcare programs, including Medicaid, CHIP, and the ACA, further underscores his selective approach to public health. These programs are lifelines for millions of children, especially those most at risk of developing chronic diseases, yet RFK Jr. remains silent on the devastating consequences of cutting them.

If Robert Kennedy Jr. truly cares about the health and safety of America’s children, his actions and advocacy must align with those goals. We need policies that expand, not restrict, healthcare access for vulnerable children. We need to champion vaccines as life-saving tools, not fuel misinformation that causes deadly outbreaks.

It’s time for leaders to stop using children’s health as a political talking point and start advocating for policies that will actually protect and improve their well-being. If Kennedy Jr. and his supporters are serious about making America healthy again, they must first stop supporting policies that make children unhealthy and uninsured…again.

If you would like to help ensure that children and their needs, concerns, and best interests are no longer ignored by policymakers and to protect our nation’s public schools from continued assault, please consider joining us as an “Ambassador for Children” or becoming a paid subscriber to help us continue our work on behalf of children.

Furthermore, while RFK Jr.’s anti-vax organization, Children’s Health Defense, raises millions from wealthy donors to help spread misinformation, First Focus on Children needs the support of individual donors to help counter this misinformation and to support our work to improve child health. Please consider donating here.