Kennedy announced the commission Tuesday after a meeting at Trump Tower. | Getty RFK Jr. says he'll leave environmental group to head Trump vaccine commission

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told members of his environmental group late Wednesday that he expects to temporarily leave it to chair a vaccine safety commission he has been discussing with President-elect Donald Trump and his aides for over a month.

Kennedy, who's pushed the widely discredited link between vaccines and autism for years, announced the commission Tuesday after a meeting at Trump Tower. Several hours later, however, the Trump team appeared to walk back the idea, releasing a statement that said Trump had not made a decision on whether to establish an “autism” commission.


A Trump spokesperson Thursday said no decision had been made on Kennedy’s position or the commission in general.

In the email Wednesday night to members of the Waterkeepers Alliance, which Kennedy leads, he provided additional details on the vaccine commission and suggested Trump has a stronger lever of interest than previously reported.

Trump has repeatedly made statements and tweets over the past five years endorsing the disproven theory that vaccination causes autism.

Kennedy said Trump had “reached out to me through intermediaries” on Dec. 4, leading to detailed discussions with the transition team on the role and composition of the commission. After his meeting with Trump and staff, he agreed to chair the commission for a year, Kennedy said. However, he said he's still waiting "to see the transition team’s detailed proposal before making my commitment final.”

Medical groups throughout the country expressed alarm at the idea of a Kennedy-led safety commission. They point out that dozens of studies over the past 17 years have shown vaccines are safe and do not cause autism or other disorders as Kennedy claims.

If he takes the job, Kennedy said, he’ll resign as Waterkeepers attorney, a job that he says "requires me to criticize the President.”

Kennedy agonized over the decision, he said, because of his political differences with Trump. But “the complete lack of other credible leaders on this particular issue makes my decision necessary."

This article tagged under: Environment