A lawyer working with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to select top health officials for the next Trump administration has petitioned the federal government to revoke its approval of the lifesaving polio vaccine for children ― and he could have a prominent job in a Health and Human Services Department led by Kennedy.
The New York Times revealed the connection in a report Friday, finding that Aaron Siri, the lawyer Kennedy has been consulting, has filed multiple legal petitions to block vaccines on behalf of the Informed Consent Action Network in recent years. That includes a 2022 petition for the Food and Drug Administration to withdraw its approval of a standard polio vaccine for babies and children, claiming the agency needs to do further studies to prove its safety.
Polio can cause paralysis and death. Before the vaccine was approved in 1955, there were about 16,000 cases of polio every year in the U.S. Today the disease has nearly been eradicated among Americans, though cases do pop up. In recent months, the deadly disease has resurged in Gaza.
On behalf of ICAN, Siri has also petitioned the FDA to suspend vaccines for hepatitis A, tetanus and diphtheria.
When reached for comment, the FDA said it was “continuing to review these petitions” from Siri but that it “cannot predict when the reviews will be completed.”
“Until such time, we cannot comment further,” a spokesperson for the department said.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention declined to comment for this story.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) alluded to the New York Times report in a statement he released Friday, calling efforts to undermine the polio vaccine as “not just uninformed — they’re dangerous.”
“Anyone seeking the Senate’s consent to serve in the incoming Administration would do well to steer clear of even the appearance of association with such efforts,” his statement said.
Siri could have a top job at the HHS if the Senate confirms Kennedy, a prominent vaccine skeptic, as President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the department. According to the Times, Kennedy has been privately expressing interest in making Siri general counsel for the department.
If confirmed, Kennedy would oversee the FDA and multiple other federal public health agencies.
Siri declined to comment to the Times, but a spokesperson for Kennedy said Siri has not discussed his petitions with any of the health nominees. “Mr. Kennedy has long said that he wants transparency in vaccines and to give people choice,” the spokesperson said.
Trump has expressed openness toward some of Kennedy’s baseless vaccine concerns. In his Time magazine “Person of the Year” interview published Thursday, he suggested there could be merit in the unfounded claim that vaccines cause autism.
“We’re going to have a big discussion,” Trump said when asked if he would sign off on Kennedy ending childhood vaccination programs. “The autism rate is at a level that nobody ever believed possible. If you look at things that are happening, there’s something causing it.”
He made similar remarks during an appearance last weekend on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
“I think vaccines are — certain vaccines — are incredible. But maybe some aren’t. And if they aren’t, we have to find out,” Trump said.
He also described the polio vaccine as “the greatest thing,” saying: “If somebody told me to get rid of the polio vaccine, they’re going to have to work real hard to convince me.”