In mid-May 2025, after U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appeared at a House committee budget hearing, a claim (archived) circulated that Kennedy said, "I don't think people should be taking medical advice from me."
The popular claim also circulated on Facebook (archived), Threads (archived), Bluesky (archived), Reddit (archived) and TikTok (archived). Snopes readers also wrote in to ask if the quote was real.
Kennedy did say he didn't think people should take medical advice from him during a May 14, 2025, hearing in the House Committee on Appropriations. During the hearing, Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wis., asked Kennedy if he would vaccinate his child against measles if he had one in 2025. Kennedy replied he probably would, but also said, "I don't think people should be taking advice, medical advice, from me." Therefore, this quote is correctly attributed.
Pocan and Kennedy's exchange went as follows (at 01:04:56 in video, our emphasis):
Pocan: I don't want to ask you about all the specific theories on vaccines but something that might be helpful is: You've previously said you've vaccinated your children — just because I think this is a helpful answer and this isn't a "gotcha," I promise — if you had a child today would you vaccinate that child for measles?
Kennedy: For measles? Probably for measles. I, you know, what I would say is my opinions about vaccines are irrelevant. I have directed Jay Bhattacharya —
P: Sure, no, like I said I don't want —
K: — so that everybody can make that decision. But I, you know, I don't want to be, seem like I'm being evasive. But I don't think people should be taking advice, medical advice, from me.
P: Right, no, I got that and I'm not asking you to give the medical advice but would you vaccinate your child —
K: So I, you know, I think if I answer that question directly, that it will seem like I'm giving advice to other people, and I don't want to be doing that. I want people to make up their own —
P: But that's kind of your jurisdiction because CDC does give advice, right. I'm not trying to do it as a "gotcha," I was going to —
K: I think what we're going to try to do is lay out the pros and cons, the risks and benefits, accurately, as we understand, them with replicable studies.
Following this exchange, Pocan quizzed Kennedy on whether he would vaccinate his hypothetical child for chickenpox or polio. Kennedy responded to both that he didn't want to "give advice."
Pocan was correct that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) falls under the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which Kennedy leads. The CDC "protects the public health of the nation by providing leadership and direction in the prevention and control of diseases and other preventable conditions, and responding to public health emergencies," according to the HHS website. For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic the CDC issued recommendations about hygiene, fresh air and taking precautions to prevent spreading the virus.
Snopes has previously reported on various rumors relating to Kennedy, including how he backed his anti-vaccine stance and whether he took his grandkids swimming in a polluted creek.