Trump administration considers executive order on autism and vaccines

Rachel Cohrs Zhang, Riley Griffin and Skylar Woodhouse, Bloomberg News on Aug 6, 2026

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WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is actively considering issuing an executive order on vaccines and autism as soon as next week, according to people familiar with the matter.

The effort is prompted by President Donald Trump’s interest in seeing additional action, according to the people, who asked not to be named to discuss internal deliberations. Options officials are discussing include research initiatives, encompassing forward-looking studies and backward-looking analyses, the people said.

The contents of the order are not final and the timing could still change. Scientific evidence has shown no link between autism and childhood vaccines, and decades of research has failed to identify a single cause of autism.

“President Trump has been clear: America must have the best childhood vaccine schedule in the world. The Administration remains steadfastly committed to delivering on this presidential priority with Gold Standard Science for the countless parents whose questions and concerns about vaccinations have been ignored or mocked,” White House spokesman Kush Desai said in a written statement.

Trump has previously pushed to pare down the number of vaccines recommended for children. A May executive order sought to align US shot schedules with countries that recommend fewer immunizations. A court has blocked other attempts by officials including Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to alter official vaccine schedules and remake the advisory committee that oversees them.

An order on vaccines and autism would put a spotlight on a topic officials had previously sought to downplay ahead of the midterm elections. An internal memo earlier this year advised health officials to focus on less divisive subjects like food guidelines and healthcare costs, as polling showed broad support for routine childhood vaccines in competitive election districts.

Trump last week publicly prodded Kennedy, who previously held a leadership role in a prominent anti-vaccine group, to investigate the root cause of autism. Trump asked him how his agency is progressing on autism research during a cabinet meeting at Camp David.

“We will have an answer for you,” Kennedy responded.

(Jessica Nix contributed to this report.)