Ardent anti-vaccine activist and current US Health Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is reportedly facing criticism from President Trump for not doing enough to curb vaccine recommendations in the USA.

According to a report by The Wall Street Journal, Trump has become fixated on debunked claims that vaccines cause autism and wants an autism remedy as part of his legacy. He feels this can be achieved by reducing childhood vaccination rates or confirming such links, but Kennedy’s actions have not met these lofty expectations.

The tension between the two became apparent in May when Trump reportedly expressed disappointment with Kennedy for “having the yips.” In June, during a meeting in the Oval Office, Trump vented his frustration that Kennedy had not done more to cut back federal childhood vaccine recommendations or establish a link to autism. Experts point out that Kennedy’s actions have undermined public health and life-saving vaccines.

Some of Kennedy's notable changes include overhauling key vaccine advisory committees with anti-vaccine allies who dismissed evidence-based recommendations, trimming the US childhood vaccine schedule to resemble Denmark’s, an action criticized as potentially endangering public health. He also directed the CDC to stop promoting flu vaccines during a particularly deadly season and edited CDC website content to falsely link vaccines to autism.