What Did RFK Jr. Say About His Samoa Trip—and What Do the New Documents Show?
Readers will learn what Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testified about his 2019 visit to Samoa, what newly reported documents indicate about the trip's purpose, and why the discrepancy has triggered calls for a criminal investigation.
In 2019, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. traveled to Samoa. At the time, the island nation was about to experience a deadly measles outbreak. During his 2025 confirmation hearings to become U.S. secretary of health and human services, Kennedy told senators the trip had "nothing to do with vaccines." Documents reported by The Guardian and The Associated Press now contradict that account.
A short trip with a disputed purpose
Kennedy, already known for questioning vaccine safety, visited Samoa before the outbreak took hold. Asked about the visit during the confirmation process, he was categorical: the trip had nothing to do with vaccines.
Records obtained by The Guardian tell a different story. In an email, Kennedy's colleague told Samoan officials that they were coming as part of a mission to study the nation's medical records after a "discontinuity in vaccinations." Other documents obtained by The Guardian and The Associated Press show Kennedy wrote to Samoa's then-prime minister saying he wanted his team to examine what had happened with the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine in Samoa. A State Department employee also emailed colleagues about contacts with Kennedy and his colleague, describing the trip as vaccine-related.
Kennedy's colleague, identified in the reporting as Dr. Graven, described plans to spend weeks collecting data in Samoa. The pair left after only a few days.
Why the wording matters
The distinction between a vaccine-focused trip and a general visit matters for two reasons.
First, Kennedy made the "nothing to do with vaccines" statement during Senate confirmation hearings. Testimony to Congress is part of a formal record. If senators believe that statement was false, the question becomes whether it was a misstatement or an attempt to mislead. At least one senator has called for a criminal investigation, according to The Guardian.
Second, the subject is not academic. As secretary of health and human services, Kennedy oversees agencies that make vaccination policy. The Samoa trip sits at the intersection of his personal views, his public role, and his prior conduct. The documents do not independently verify every detail, and the full context of the emails has not been made public. But the written record is hard to square with his testimony.
The episode also revisits an unresolved issue from his confirmation: whether the Senate was given an accurate picture of his activities before approving him. The new reporting does not settle that question by itself, but it moves the dispute from memory to documentation.