Bill Cassidy Slams Rfk Jr. Over Measles Outbreaks But Demurs On Confirmation Vote

Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy issued a sharp critique of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his Make America Healthy Again movement, as his department is drastically remaking federal child vaccine policy amid nationwide measles outbreaks.

“If the way that you, quote unquote, ‘are serving the American people,’ is by confusing them as to the safety and benefits of vaccines, so much so that we have people dying from vaccine-preventable diseases like they haven't died for decades,” Cassidy said in an interview this week for POLITICO’s “The Conversation” with Dasha Burns. “That's not serving the American people — that's doing wrong to the American people.

Despite his recent public support for measles vaccines, Kennedy, who does not have a background in medicine or public health, has a history of promoting debunked theories and sowing doubts about the safety of vaccines.

Cassidy, a physician and gastroenterologist who lost a Republican primary in May, also called candidates and backers of the MAHA movement “bankrupt” and “ideologically driven.”

Still, the Louisiana Republican, who cast the deciding vote to confirm Kennedy, deflected questions about whether he regrets his vote. “You can't wallow. You gotta move on.”

He added that Congress should not try to impeach Kennedy.

“I don't think it has a snowball's chance,” he said.

Cassidy’s comments come as there have been nearly 3,300 confirmed cases of measles this year in the U.S., surpassing the about 2,300 cases last year, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Experts have attributed the recent outbreaks to declining vaccination rates.

The CDC said three people died from measles last year, but it has no death records this year “that indicate measles is the underlying cause.” Meanwhile, officials in Pennsylvania have reported four measles deaths this year, including two unvaccinated adults and two infants.

"Any notion that the Trump Administration is discouraging measles vaccination is absolutely fake news," an HHS spokesperson said in a statement. "Secretary Kennedy has repeatedly stated that MMR vaccination is the most effective way to prevent measles infection."

The department added that the CDC has offered to assist Pennsylvania in responding to its measles outbreak, but the state has not requested the aid.

In 2024, 285 measles cases were reported.

“I’m just trying to take that passion I feel and put it into a positive way, as a physician more than a senator, to advise people: ‘Speak to your child’s pediatrician. Your child can die from measles if your child is not vaccinated, and it’s safe, and it’s effective, and it’s been proven time and again that it's not associated with things like autism,’” Cassidy said in the interview.

Asked about his view on Heidi Overton, President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Food and Drug Administration, whom Cassidy criticized last month over her support for Trump and Kennedy’s vaccine agenda, Cassidy again demurred. The Senate Health Committee, which Cassidy chairs, is set for a hearing on Overton’s nomination next week.

“I reserve comment until after the hearing,” the senator said.

HHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.