Senators Seek Records on Kennedy’s Samoa Trip

Sens. Ron Wyden and Angela Alsobrooks have requested records from Children’s Health Defense as part of an inquiry into whether Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s account of a 2019 Samoa trip conflicts with a letter he sent before traveling there. The senators set December 4, 2026, as the deadline for the nonprofit to respond.

The request seeks records related to Kennedy’s Samoa travel, his 2024 presidential campaign and Senate confirmation process, as well as communications between the organization and federal officials since January 2025. It also covers the group’s September convention. Children’s Health Defense, which Kennedy formerly led, had not publicly responded to the request in the reporting.

The inquiry follows Kennedy’s January 2025 confirmation hearing, where he said the Samoa trip had nothing to do with vaccines and that he went to introduce a medical-information system. In a response to questions from senators, Kennedy said he went to make health records digital and improve health care delivery.

A January 2019 letter Kennedy sent to Samoa’s prime minister proposed that his team assess the country’s measles, mumps and rubella vaccines. The...