Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s “MAHA” vision is so controversial and electorally disastrous that the White House is warning the president to stay away from his own hand-picked Cabinet secretary.
The Trump White House is growing increasingly concerned that the Health and Human Services secretary’s policies will damage other Republican candidates in the 2026 midterm elections, on top of the widespread defeat Republicans are expected to face in November.
President Donald Trump originally told Kennedy to “go wild on health,” but now his own administration is frustrated by his constant mess-ups.
Kennedy’s “standing among some staff is at a new low,” according to The Wall Street Journal.
Some Trump aides have even gone as far as to take direct control over the Department of Health and Human Services, as polling has revealed that Kennedy’s vaccine conspiracies and other health initiatives are deeply unpopular with the general electorate.
The White House views some Make America Healthy Again priorities, like healthy eating initiatives, as winning issues. But Kennedy’s several missteps, including failing to control a widespread measles outbreak, canceling grants for mental health and substance abuse, and drama at the FDA, have created headaches for other administration officials.
These mess-ups have been so bad that the White House has personally intervened to replace some of Kennedy’s top officials with people of their own choosing.
The Journal reported that while Kennedy was receptive of the changes, he told subordinates the department was losing “friends.”
White House spokesperson Kush Desai disputed the rift in a statement to the Daily Beast.
“The Trump administration has delivered one MAHA win after another, and the White House continues to work hand in glove with Secretary Kennedy and the entire HHS team to keep more MAHA wins coming for the American people,” the statement read.
Trump has also undermined some MAHA priorities, angering Kennedy’s coalition.
He signed an executive order in February to boost the domestic production of herbicide glyphosate, a widely used weedkiller known more commonly by one of its brand names, Roundup.
Kennedy has long opposed glyphosate-based pesticides, as he successfully sued one manufacturer over allegations that the pesticide causes cancer when he worked as an environmental lawyer.
On vaccines, Trump administration officials believe some of MAHA’s vaccine messaging is too polarizing.
“Vaccines are not popular issues to talk about,” one administration official told the Washington Post last month. “It goes back to polling.”
During his State of the Union address last month, Trump did not discuss any MAHA priorities, like eliminating pesticides and food dyes. He briefly discussed his efforts to lower prescription drug prices, but did not address the main items on the MAHA agenda.
Despite his advisor’s worries, Kennedy remains in good standing with the president himself, according to the Journal. Trump has also at times appeared enamoured by the fact that he could pull a Kennedy — albeit one who most of his family has disavowed — into his administration.
“He’s doing such a fantastic job,” Trump said in February. “Who would’ve thought a Kennedy—we love a Kennedy—in the Republican Party?”
