RFK Jr. Can’t Hide From Measles’ Comeback

Across marathon hearings before lawmakers over the past week, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was repeatedly challenged over his response to the ongoing measles outbreak — and he repeatedly refused to take responsibility for the rising number of infections. But the scale of the surge and Kennedy’s own role in undermining vaccines make that deflection hard to swallow.

US measles cases hit a nearly 35-year high in 2025, Kennedy’s first year leading the nation’s top health agency, with the CDC recording nearly 2,300 infections and three deaths. The disease has spread even faster this year, with 19 new outbreaks and nearly 1,750 cases by mid-April. That includes almost 100 hospitalizations — more than half of them children. All for a disease the US thought it vanquished in 2000.