Wyden and Alsobrooks Open Probe Into Whether RFK Jr. Lied to Congress About Samoa Trip

Two Democratic senators, Ron Wyden of Oregon and Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland, have opened an investigation into whether Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. lied to Congress during his January 2025 confirmation hearings about a 2019 trip to Samoa. In a letter sent to Children's Health Defense (CHD), the anti-vaccine group Kennedy previously led, they requested records tied to the trip and to his confirmation process, along with all communications between CHD and the government since President Donald Trump took office in January 2025. Wyden is the incoming chair of the Senate finance committee. At the hearings, Kennedy said he went to Samoa and that it had nothing to do with vaccines. The senators say a letter he wrote beforehand to then-Samoan Prime Minister Tuilaepa Lupesoliai Neioti Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi indicates the trip would relate to vaccines. The trip came months before a measles outbreak killed 83 people in Samoa, mostly children under five. The senators said they intend to hold Kennedy accountable for any false statements to Congress. Kennedy was not under oath during the hearings.

The Washington Examiner and Newsmax, on the right, frame the story as a Democratic-led probe over alleged lies. The Examiner details the letter to the Samoan prime minister, quotes Kennedy's "nothing to do with vaccines" answer, notes he was not under oath, and lists the senators' document demands. Newsmax's headline and excerpt likewise stress the senators' demand for documents from the anti-vaccine group. Neither right-leaning excerpt foregrounds the measles deaths. On the left, MS NOW leads with the senators' pledge to hold Kennedy accountable for "grave harm" to vulnerable children, and The Guardian US, which says Wyden cited its own exclusive reporting, stresses the measles toll and that Kennedy "unlawfully lied." Both sides agree on the senators, the Samoa trip and the CHD records request. They differ in emphasis: the right on the allegations and testimony specifics, the left on the outbreak and the children harmed. NewsNation, an alternative outlet, adds that both AP and Guardian reporting on documents prompted the probe.