RFK Jr. personally ordered CDC to rewrite its vaccine-autism page, exploiting a loophole in the promise that got him confirmed

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. personally directed CDC staff on Nov. 19, 2025, to rewrite the agency web page titled Autism and Vaccines, according to his own public confirmation on Nov. 21.

The rewritten page keeps the heading Vaccines do not cause autism but follows it with an asterisk. Text further down the page says that statement is not an evidence-based claim because studies have not ruled out the possibility that infant vaccines cause autism.

The page also states that studies supporting a link between vaccines and autism have been ignored by health authorities, a claim directly contradicted by more than 40 peer-reviewed studies involving over 5.6 million children across seven countries.

The CDC rewrite did not go through the agency's standard scientific clearance process. A senior CDC official who subsequently resigned confirmed that career public health staff objected to the change.

During his February 2025 Senate confirmation hearings, Kennedy made a specific written commitment to Sen. Bill Cassidy that the CDC website would retain the statement that vaccines do not cause autism. That promise secured Cassidy's yes vote in the 52-48 confirmation.

A CDC staffer who was not permitted to speak publicly described the asterisk as a direct middle finger to Cassidy. Kennedy satisfied the letter of the promise while inverting its meaning.

Cassidy, a physician and chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, publicly said after the page went live that vaccines are safe, but he did not say Kennedy breached his commitment or announce any consequences.

The 52-48 Senate confirmation vote on Feb. 13, 2025, was nearly party-line. The only Republican to vote no was Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. Cassidy and Sen. Susan Collins of Maine were among the Republicans whose votes Kennedy lobbied hardest.