Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday lashed out against Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for wanting to implement life-threatening policies that she said are “crazy” and “costing lives.”
Clinton said Kennedy wants to bring the American public back to a time “when we aren’t vaccinating, we’re drinking raw milk, yeah, and people didn’t live,” during an appearance on MSNBC.
Her comments come as top public health experts have left the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) amid the secretary’s push to revise the vaccine schedule for children.
On Monday, Kennedy also stood beside President Trump as the administration said there was an underlying link connecting autism in children to pregnant mothers taking Tylenol, despite a lack of research to support their claims.
Clinton said, “too many Americans are listening to this, you know, very destructive, anti-science tirade that we’re hearing from this administration. And it’s going to cost lives.”
“It already is costing lives,” she added.
Three weeks ago, Florida officials said they would drop the state’s school vaccine requirements.
And earlier this year, the nation saw a measles outbreak in portions of Texas.
The United States effectively eliminated measles in 2000 through immunizations.
However, in 2025 at least 1,288 cases have been confirmed across 38 states and the District of Columbia, according to CDC data from July. Three deaths were reported. The numbers are the highest recorded since 1992.
Experts say this year’s cases are likely severely undercounted because many are going unreported.
Demetre C. Daskalakis, former director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said the Trump administration was perpetuating the “ongoing weaponizing of public health.”
His rhetoric was echoed by colleagues and lawmakers in recent weeks.
“For the good of the nation and the world, the science at CDC should never be censored or subject to political paused or interpretations. Vaccines save lives — this is an indisputable, well-established, scientific fact,” CDC Chief Medical Officer Debra Houry wrote in her CDC resignation letter.
“Recently, the overstating of risks and the rise of misinformation have cost lives, as demonstrated by the highest number of U.S. measles cases in 30 years and the violent attack on our agency,” Houry added.
