HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. dropped a truth bomb on Rep. Rosa DeLauro during a congressional hearing, dismantling her claim that the U.S. leads the world in measles cases. The purple-haired Democrat got a polite but firm reality check when Kennedy brought hard data to the table. Looks like someone forgot to fact-check their talking points, The Daily Caller reported.
Kennedy corrected DeLauro’s assertion, made while questioning NIH research funding, that the U.S. has a worse measles problem than other nations. He laid out the numbers with surgical precision, showing the U.S. isn’t the global outlier she painted it to be. This exchange was a masterclass in shutting down misinformation with receipts.
DeLauro claimed the U.S. is drowning in measles compared to places like Great Britain, which she noted had no measles deaths this year. “The Europe you are referring to is the WHO European region, which has 53 countries in Europe and Asia, including those with low vaccination rates like Romania, which has never eliminated measles,” she said. Nice try, but her cherry-picked stats didn’t hold up under scrutiny.
Kennedy wasn’t having it. “Let me address your issue first, because I want to correct you,” he said, setting the stage for a data-driven takedown. He pointed out the U.S. had roughly 1,100 measles cases, with only 15 new cases last year, signaling a plateau.
Compare that to Canada, which reported 1,506 cases across seven jurisdictions as of April 26, 2025, despite having one-eighth the U.S. population. That’s a higher per-capita rate than the States, yet DeLauro conveniently ignored our northern neighbor. Facts don’t care about your narrative, Congresswoman.
Mexico didn’t fare much better. With one-third of the U.S. population, Chihuahua state alone logged 1,041 cases as of May 9, 2025, and the country saw 300 new cases in a single week. DeLauro’s attempt to dunk on U.S. public health just got schooled by border stats.
Western Europe, often held up as a public health gold standard by the left, is grappling with nearly 6,000 measles cases—ten times the U.S. figure. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and an HHS spokesperson confirmed this to the Daily Caller News Foundation. So much for the U.S. being the measles capital of the developed world.
Kennedy laid it out plainly: “Western Europe has about 6,000, which is ten times the number that we have. You are wrong about what you said earlier,” he told DeLauro. It’s rare to see a politician corrected so thoroughly in real time.
The U.S., by contrast, reported 1,001 confirmed cases across 31 jurisdictions, including New York and Texas, as of May 8, 2025, per the CDC. That’s significant, but hardly the crisis DeLauro implied when stacked against global numbers. Her argument collapsed faster than a bad sitcom.
DeLauro’s reference to the WHO European region, which includes 53 countries like Romania with spotty vaccination records, was a weak attempt to pad her case. She leaned on Great Britain’s zero measles deaths to prop up her point, but deaths aren’t the same as cases. Classic misdirection from the woke playbook.
Kennedy didn’t let her slide. He clarified that Western Europe’s 6,000 cases dwarf the U.S.’s 1,100, exposing the flaw in her comparison to “countries we often compare ourselves to.” When you’re caught exaggerating, doubling down isn’t the move.
The HHS spokesperson’s confirmation of Western Europe’s numbers, internally reported to the CDC, added weight to Kennedy’s rebuttal. DeLauro’s claim wasn’t just wrong—it was embarrassingly out of touch with reality. Maybe it’s time to trade the purple hair dye for a stats textbook.
This hearing showcased Kennedy’s knack for cutting through political spin with cold, hard facts. While DeLauro tried to score points with misleading claims, he brought data from health authorities worldwide to set the record straight. It’s refreshing to see a bureaucrat who doesn’t just nod along to bad arguments.
The U.S. measles situation, while not perfect, is far from the disaster DeLauro painted. With 1,100 cases in a nation of over 330 million, the growth rate has flatlined, unlike the skyrocketing numbers in Canada and Mexico. Actions have consequences, and so does sloppy rhetoric.
Kennedy’s fact-check wasn’t just a win for accuracy—it was a reminder that truth still matters, even in a world of soundbites and grandstanding. DeLauro’s attempt to shame U.S. public health got the reality check it deserved. Next time, maybe she’ll check her facts before opening her mouth.
