WASHINGTON — Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will give a keynote address at a Children’s Health Defense conference in the nation’s capital this week, embracing the anti-vaccine organization he once led.
“We couldn’t be more excited to welcome our founder back to the CHD stage,” the nonprofit said in an email announcing Kennedy as a speaker.
The conference, which will take place at the Grand Hyatt Washington on Thursday, marks an important full-circle moment for Kennedy, who joined Children’s Health Defense in 2015. The group questions the efficacy and safety of childhood vaccines. Kennedy chaired CHD until December 2024, earning a six-figure salary while helping file dozens of lawsuits targeting state-level vaccine policies, according to his financial disclosures.
He took leave from the group during his campaign for the presidency, and severed ties permanently shortly before President Trump took office.
Through Kennedy, CHD has gained unprecedented access to the political levers of power. Ideas that are central to the group’s beliefs, but were once considered fringe, such as the disproven theory that vaccines cause autism, have been echoed by Trump in the White House
The group’s leaders, including attorney Mary Holland, have attended high-profile MAHA gatherings in Washington, and gained positions within the Department of Health and Human Services.
The CHD conference will serve as the secretary’s first public embrace of the group since he took the helm of HHS — a marked shift from January 2025, when Kennedy promised senators he would not do anything to discourage Americans from getting vaccines.
During his confirmation hearings, Kennedy attempted to distance himself from Children’s Health Defense and his prior anti-vaccine activism in order to secure key Republican votes. During one memorable exchange, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) grilled Kennedy by pointing to images of “Unvaxxed, Unafraid” onesies sold by Children’s Health Defense.
“Are you supportive of these onesies?” Sanders asked several times.
“I am supportive of vaccines,” Kennedy responded, adding that he had “no power” over the nonprofit.