HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is ramping up a long-time focus on autism that has historically been tied to his stance on vaccines.
Under his leadership, the NIH and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services are teaming up in a pilot program to build a real-world data platform based on health information, including medical records, that will “enable” research into the “root causes of autism spectrum disorder,” HHS announced on Wednesday. The project will leverage Medicare and Medicaid data and eventually expand to other chronic conditions. HHS did not respond to a request for comment about how much funding is attached to the program.
The project follows Kennedy’s pledges to determine what causes autism, which impacts 1 in 31 children, according to HHS. He also promised in April that, through an assembly of “world-class scientists,” HHS would “begin to have answers” about the cause by September — a quick deadline that was questioned by experts.
NIH Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya has since walked back the upcoming goal, stating that grants for researchers would begin by the summer, the LA Times reported. At the same time, the Trump administration has cut about 800 NIH grants over the past several weeks, terminating millions of dollars in research funding, including ongoing studies on autism. The federal government has been the biggest funder of autism research in the past, providing nearly $350 million in 2019, according to the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee.
Data collection methods have raised concerns about creating a “registry” of Americans with autism. HHS appeared to address concerns about private health information in its announcement, stating that the project will use real-world data “in a manner consistent with applicable privacy laws.” But some government leaders are already pushing back on that approach. Illinois Governor Jay Pritzker has recently signed an executive order that restricts the mass collection and sharing of autism-related data for the state’s residents.
Still, with Kennedy being rallied by President Donald Trump, the HHS front man is charging forward.
“We’re using this partnership to uncover the root causes of autism and other chronic diseases,” Kennedy said Wednesday. “We’re pulling back the curtain — with full transparency and accountability — to deliver the honest answers families have waited far too long to hear.”
Kennedy’s autism claims
The announcement came after Kennedy delivered several misleading and unsupported statements about people diagnosed with autism last month.
“These are kids who, many of them, were fully functional and regressed because of some environmental exposure into autism when they were 2 years old, and these are kids who will never pay taxes, they’ll never hold a job, they’ll never play baseball, they’ll never write a poem, they’ll never go out on a date,” he said during the April press conference. “Many of them will never use a toilet unassisted.”
He also pointed to an unnamed “environmental toxin” as one potential cause of the disease while dismissing the possibility that autism, which he called an “epidemic,” could be genetic.
The comments were met with immediate backlash from advocacy and research groups, including the Autism Science Foundation, which refuted the environmental exposure theory and pointed out that Kennedy’s assertion overlooked "overwhelming" evidence the cause is likely genetic. The foundation also noted Kennedy’s views contradicted a recent CDC report that found the increase in diagnoses in children with autism is due to better screening practices and wider access to services.
Although Kennedy did not mention vaccines in his speech last month or in the HHS announcement on Wednesday, he has a history of linking vaccines with autism. As a presidential candidate in the 2024 election, Kennedy correlated a rising prevalence of autism diagnoses with vaccine use and cited debunked research.
During confirmation hearings for his HHS post, Kennedy refused to deny that vaccines cause autism when pressed by Senators. And his vaccine skepticism goes beyond autism. More recently, he flip-flopped on measles vaccine advice amid a growing outbreak across several states that has resulted in at least three deaths this year.
Kennedy has also hired a known vaccine critic, David Geier, to study the supposed link between autism and vaccines, The New York Times reported in March. Geier, whose medical license was suspended over concerns related to his treatment approach for children with autism, has published papers attempting to point to a vaccine link. His hiring as a senior data analyst with HHS prompted an investigation by the House Energy and Commerce Committee last month.
But Kennedy’s autism obsession runs deeper than misinformation and brow-raising appointments. He also has strong financial ties that have earned him millions tied to lawsuits against vaccine makers.
A history of vaccine lawsuits
Before becoming head of HHS, Kennedy worked as a lawyer and chaired an anti-vaccine nonprofit, Children’s Health Defense. The organization says it aims to eliminate childhood chronic conditions caused by environmental exposures, but its advocacy work has taken the form of legal pursuits, including challenging vaccine mandates for school children and targeting the emergency use authorization for COVID-19 vaccines.
While CHD has lost many cases, Kennedy played a significant role in a mass lawsuit against Merck & Co. over its human papillomavirus vaccine Gardasil. Over a three-year period, he earned $2.5 million in referral fees from the law firm suing Merck, according to Democratic Senators who reviewed his records during the confirmation process earlier this year.
During the confirmation hearings, Kennedy said he would no longer rake in money from the lawsuits. Even without compensation, Kennedy holds influence as HHS secretary to direct policy, and the latest push to determine a “cause” for autism could ultimately hew closely to his anti-vaccine agenda.
