The world has witnessed a concerning surge of measles cases. Europe reported 127,350 cases in 2024 — the highest number recorded on the continent since 1997. In Canada, 4,586 cases have been documented in 2024 and 2025, while Mexico has confirmed 3,911 cases to date.
And, on Jan. 17, 2025, just three days before President Donald Trump assumed office, the Houston Health Department reported two confirmed measles cases, marking the first case in Texas since 2023. While left-leaning media outlets were quick to criticize the Trump administration over these cases in Texas, they remained largely silent about the 383% nationwide increase in measles cases between 2023 and 2024 during the Biden administration, including Illinois’s largest measles outbreak since 1990, which was linked to a migrant shelter in Chicago.
In stark contrast, the Trump administration’s response to the measles outbreak, led by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., met the moment. It was prompt, aggressive, and wholly effective. And, this week, thanks to the secretary’s leadership and tireless work, Texas health officials declared the outbreak over.
Kennedy’s approach was not a top-down, government-knows-best strategy where the feds swoop in and usurp the direction from state and local leaders. Instead, he understands what too many people in Washington forget: The most effective solutions come from those closest to the problem and most accountable to the people. It’s with this understanding that he listened first, acted decisively, and never left our community’s side.
He spoke to leaders at every level — public health officials, healthcare providers, and the community members affected — and not just once, but daily. I am convinced his personal commitment and sense of urgency enabled him to break through the bureaucracy, swiftly marshal the necessary resources, and successfully end the outbreak.
The secretary used his platform to raise awareness for the measles outbreak, publicly urging people to take it seriously and emphasizing the critical role of the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine.
He directed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response to work hand-in-glove with Texas health officials to deploy rapid response teams, give comprehensive support, and provide 7,000 doses of the MMR vaccine and therapeutic medications to our local communities. He made sure local health authorities, providers, and families had the tools and support they needed, providing prevention guidance and establishing a local response network laboratory at Texas Tech to expedite measles testing in West Texas.
And he engaged the broader public as well. The CDC accelerated its public reporting of measles cases and outbreaks so that anyone who visited the CDC’s website could see hot spots of infection. It also posted a “Be Ready for Measles” toolkit, which provided outbreak response tools and communication materials for clinicians and the public health community. What’s more, the CDC held biweekly national calls to share best practices on managing the outbreak for providers and health departments.
But beyond the policies, beyond the programs, what defined the secretary’s leadership during the measles outbreak was his personal engagement and genuine compassion for the families affected. He personally visited the small town of Seminole, Texas, and he didn’t just give its residents resources. He gave them what they needed most: the confidence and hope that their nation’s healthcare system and their country would not abandon them. He developed real, meaningful connections with West Texas families — comforting them, mourning alongside them, and giving them the encouragement they needed to persist in the face of this crisis.
IN FOCUS FORUM: IS RFK JR. MAKING AMERICA HEALTHY AGAIN?
This is what good leadership looks like. Not command and control, but compassion and service. Not someone who thinks they have all the answers, but someone who seeks first to understand.
I have never witnessed a leader at his level, a man who leads an entire national agency, show such humility, humanity, and heart. Kennedy is not a conventional Cabinet secretary, and thank God. Because of his unique leadership, our families are safer, our communities are stronger, and, together, we are making America healthy again.
Jodey Arrington represents Texas’s 19th Congressional District and is the chairman of the House Budget Committee.