Senators Launch Inquiry Into Whether RFK Jr. Lied to Congress About Samoa Trip
Two Democratic senators have opened a formal investigation into whether Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. lied to Congress about the reason for a 2019 trip to Samoa, escalating a confrontation that could widen sharply once Democrats take control of the Senate in January.
Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, and Sen. Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland sent a letter Wednesday to Children’s Health Defense, the anti-vaccine nonprofit Kennedy chaired until December 2024, notifying the group that they are beginning an investigation. The letter says the senators are examining evidence that Kennedy “unlawfully lied to Congress on more than one occasion.”
What the senators are seeking
The lawmakers asked Children’s Health Defense for a broad set of records, including documents related to Kennedy’s travel to Samoa, his 2024 presidential campaign, and his Senate confirmation process. The letter also requested all communications between the group and federal government officials since President Donald Trump’s second term began in January 2025.
The group has been given until December 4 to comply. The letter is not a subpoena and does not carry the same legal force, but it puts the organization — and Kennedy — on formal notice that a Senate inquiry is underway.
“We intend to hold Secretary Kennedy accountable for the grave harm he has caused to vulnerable children,” Wyden and Alsobrooks wrote. “We also intend to hold him accountable for any false statements made to Congress, a crime that undermines the Senate’s ability to fulfill its constitutional duties.”
The testimony at the center of the inquiry
During two confirmation hearings in January 2025, Kennedy repeatedly told senators that his visit to Samoa had “nothing to do with vaccines.” Reporting by The Associated Press and The Guardian in August, based on documents obtained through a public-records lawsuit, showed otherwise.
In a letter dated January 20, 2019, written on Children’s Health Defense letterhead to the Samoan prime minister ahead of the trip, Kennedy used the words “vaccine” or “vaccination” eight times and proposed conducting a “detailed health informatics assessment in Samoa of what happened with your MMR vaccines.”
Kennedy traveled to Samoa in June 2019 as Children’s Health Defense’s chair and chief legal counsel. Several months later, the island nation was hit by a devastating measles outbreak. According to the World Health Organization, 5,707 people contracted measles and 83 died, most of them children under five. The outbreak was declared on October 16, 2019, and a state of emergency ran from November 15 to December 28 of that year.
The Department of Health and Human Services has maintained that the Samoa visit “was unrelated to vaccines.” In response to an AP inquiry in August, the department said “any claim or insinuation based on these letters that Secretary Kennedy lied under oath or to Congress is not only false but outright defamatory.” Spokespeople for Children’s Health Defense and HHS did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Thursday.
Kennedy was not under oath during his confirmation hearing. Knowingly giving material false testimony to Congress is a crime that carries a possible prison sentence regardless of whether a person is under oath, though it is rarely prosecuted.
A second inquiry: luxury gifts from a donor
The same two senators on Wednesday announced a separate investigation into hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of gifts reportedly given to Kennedy last year by a donor and former employee.
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According to the Senate Finance Committee, Kennedy received $250,000 in luxury travel and lodging from donor Gavin de Becker, including flights to Fiji and Greece and the use of a residential property in Washington, D.C. The senators have written to both Kennedy and de Becker seeking clarification about Kennedy’s compliance with federal ethics rules, including the dates of all flights paid for by de Becker and whether the goods and services were treated as gifts or business expenses.
Why this matters
The inquiry is one of a wave of investigations Democrats plan into the Trump administration after regaining control of the House and Senate in the midterm elections. Its reach could grow considerably in January: Wyden is expected to chair the Senate Finance Committee, which has oversight of Kennedy’s health department, when Democrats take control. Alsobrooks serves on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, which also oversees the department. A committee chairmanship would give Wyden subpoena power the current letter does not carry.
Wyden had previously called for a criminal investigation into Kennedy’s Samoa testimony after the August reporting, and other Democrats have called for Kennedy to resign or be removed. Alsobrooks posted on X on November 4: “The time is now. RFK Jr. must resign or be fired.”
The case also lands as measles remains a live public health issue in the United States. The country recorded more than 5,000 measles cases this year, a 35-year high, and federal health officials are reviewing the nation’s measles elimination status.
What happens next
Children’s Health Defense has until December 4 to produce the requested documents. Whether the group complies — and what the records show — will shape the inquiry’s next steps. With Democrats set to take the Senate gavel in January, the senators’ ability to compel testimony and documents is about to expand, and Kennedy’s confirmation testimony is likely to face its closest scrutiny yet.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are Senators Wyden and Alsobrooks investigating?
They are investigating whether Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. lied to Congress during his January 2025 confirmation hearings about the purpose of a 2019 trip to Samoa, when he said the visit had “nothing to do with vaccines.”
What documents contradict Kennedy’s testimony?
A January 20, 2019 letter on Children’s Health Defense letterhead from Kennedy to the Samoan prime minister used the words “vaccine” or “vaccination” eight times and proposed assessing Samoa’s MMR vaccines. The letter was disclosed in August reporting by The Associated Press and The Guardian.
What is the deadline for Children’s Health Defense to respond?
The senators gave the group until December 4, 2026 to comply with the records request. The letter is an inquiry, not a subpoena.
What is the separate gifts inquiry about?
The same senators are also probing $250,000 in luxury travel and lodging Kennedy reportedly received from donor Gavin de Becker, including flights to Fiji and Greece and use of a Washington, D.C. property, and whether federal ethics rules were followed.
Sources: Associated Press (Ali Swenson), Nov 12, 2026; The Guardian and Associated Press reporting, August 2026; U.S. Senate Committee on Finance; World Health Organization / UNICEF Situation Report No. 10; The Lancet.
