RFK Jr. Faces Impeachment Calls Over Vaccine Overhaul While Measles Outbreaks Surge Across the US

The US has recorded 5,412 measles cases in 2026, its highest total since 1991, as Democrats weigh impeaching Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over changes to vaccine policy.

Democrats blame his overhaul of long-standing vaccine guidance, but some fear a full-scale attack could alienate the 'Make America Healthy Again' voters they hope to win over.

'He Should Go Ahead and Resign'

Rep. Jim Clyburn of South Carolina said Kennedy should be one of two high-priority impeachment targets, while Sen. Bernie Sanders said he is 'absolutely open' to the idea, the Associated Press reported.

Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia went further, saying Kennedy 'should go ahead and resign now'.

Sen. Ron Wyden has opened two investigations, the AP reported, one into the accuracy of Kennedy's testimony about a 2019 trip to Samoa and another into his reported acceptance of hundreds of thousands of dollars in lavish gifts. 'Nothing should be off the table,' Wyden said.

It would not be the first attempt. In December 2025, Rep. Haley Stevens of Michigan introduced articles of impeachment against Kennedy, accusing Kennedy of having 'imperiled the health and safety of the American people'.

She cited his firing of all 17 members of the CDC's vaccine advisory committee, cuts to research funding and restrictions on Covid vaccines for pregnant women and healthy children.

Measles Cases Reach Their Highest Level Since 1991

The pressure comes as measles spreads at a pace not seen in a generation. The CDC reports 5,412 confirmed cases in 2026, the most since 1991, The 74 reported. That is more than double the 2,289 cases recorded in all of 2025.

At least eight measles deaths have been reported by states this year, including a seven-month-old unvaccinated infant in New York, though official national tallies have lagged state reports.

Almost all of those infected, 96 per cent, were unvaccinated or had unknown vaccination status. Kindergarten MMR coverage fell from 95.2 per cent in 2019 to 2020 to 92.5 per cent in 2024 to 2025, below the roughly 95 per cent coverage generally needed to prevent sustained transmission.

The US is at risk of losing its measles elimination status for the first time in 26 years, with a Pan American Health Organization committee reviewing the data this week. 'I think we will lose measles elimination status (and) I think we should,' paediatric infectious disease expert Paul Offit told The 74.

Kennedy initially downplayed the 2025 outbreaks and has been inconsistent in backing the MMR vaccine, The 74 reported. He has also made misleading claims about how far vaccines have been studied for links to autism, though extensive research has found no credible evidence of a causal link.

HHS says he and the CDC director continue to recommend MMR vaccination, and that impeachment threats 'will not distract him'. Sanders has called him 'the most dangerous secretary of HHS in history'.

Democrats Weigh MAHA Voter Backlash

Not every Democrat wants a fight. Several, including Rep. Chellie Pingree, Rep. Jim McGovern and Sen. Cory Booker, have teamed up with MAHA activists on proposals covering regenerative agriculture, healthy school lunches and pesticide makers' liability.

Pingree called impeachment 'out of my hands'.

Mark Gorton, president of the Kennedy-aligned MAHA Institute, warned that aggressive attacks on Kennedy risked meaning 'they alienate all the MAHA voters out there'.