Trump’s Executive Order to Split the MMR Vaccine Draws Sharp Senate Criticism

President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing that the combined measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine be administered as three separate single-disease shots, effectively requiring six visits for the two-dose schedule currently recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The order, signed on a Monday, was presented in the Oval Office on August 10 with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. looking on.

GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy on Trump’s vaccine executive order: ‘This is just a stupid thing to do’

Senator Bill Cassidy (R-La.), a physician and chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, has become an outspoken critic of the president after losing a primary challenge backed by Trump-aligned forces. Cassidy previously voted to confirm Kennedy as HHS secretary in February 2025, securing assurances that the administration would not undermine existing vaccine policies. Within months, Kennedy reshaped the nation’s vaccine advisory panel and supported the executive order, straining the once-collaborative relationship between the two men.

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President Trump defended the order, asserting that “nothing bad can happen from what we are doing” and that the worst outcome would be “nothing happens.” He framed the change as a neutral adjustment with no anticipated loss of protection. Health officials and immunologists, however, have publicly stated that there is no valid medical reason to separate the MMR vaccine and warned that the move could reduce vaccination coverage.

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Senator Cassidy argued that the policy would force parents to make six medical visits instead of two, increasing missed work, insurance costs, and overall inconvenience. Cassidy also emphasized that vaccines do not cause autism, calling the order “a stupid thing to do” that jeopardizes public health.

GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy on Trump’s vaccine executive order: ‘This is just a stupid thing to do’

• “This is why the president’s poll numbers are down, because you’ve lost sight of affordability for the parent, you’ve lost sight of the convenience for the American family, you’ve lost sight of that which is driving higher costs in health care.” — Week, donald trump's executive

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• “Nothing bad can happen from what we are doing,” — Donald Trump, critic of president

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