Not more than a year ago, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was a handsomely paid partner for the injury law firm Morgan & Morgan, the largest and most profitable firm in the country, with a reputation as a reliable Democratic megadonor and interest group. As the controversial HHS Secretary enters his second year, RFK’s record thus far looks less like MAGA and more like California-liberal lawfare on federal government steroids.
So far, some of the major initiatives undertaken by RFK include an AI-chatbot-infested MAHA commission report riddled with technical errors, a muddled vaccine discouragement program, and a bureaucratic misfire of dismissing 954 employees only to rehire them a few weeks later.
While the political marriage between MAHA and MAGA has strangely remained intact, adherents of President Trump’s agenda are beginning to notice that the Kennedy distractions may not ultimately be worth it.
Whether it’s EPA reforms meant to boost manufacturing or pesticides used by farmers, President Trump’s agenda has been criticized by a wave of MAHA-friendly voices, heightening tensions between the two movements. Not to mention the public missteps Kennedy has made that cause headaches for the White House.
When RFK singled out Tylenol as a major contributing factor to childhood autism diagnoses earlier this year, he convinced the President it was a major lay-up he could champion. President Trump supported RFK at the time, echoing his thoughts on acetaminophen and warning pregnant mothers to “never take it.” Now, Trump is saddled with those statements as medical groups caution that it was all bunk.
It’s not surprising considering RFK’s former firm, Morgan & Morgan, has been suing Tylenol’s parent company on similar claims for over a decade, including during RFK’s tenure. RFK even cited the work of the same public health expert who testified in the case and later had his testimony thrown out for being “disqualifying.”
Another example popped up this month when RFK’s former firm began representing the City of San Francisco against processed food makers for “knowingly” making consumers sick and unhealthy, a claim Kennedy repeated ad nauseam throughout his doomed presidential run.
Much of RFK’s tenure has relied on publicity to target specific policies or raise awareness, techniques borrowed from the billboard and advertising industry for class action and plaintiff attorneys like those at Morgan & Morgan. If RFK’s modus operandi in dismantling the health establishment succeeds, it will be because he has empowered these same trial attorneys to file lawsuits against industries and companies he has targeted.
The looming question is whether or not the MAHA-MAGA union still makes sense. Utilizing the typical Democratic playbook to tie up opponents in court and endless lawsuits is not a great look for this White House. Is this how President Trump’s coalition will maintain power in Washington? Swimming with tort lawyers?
Of course, Democrats have every reason to be skeptical of their former party stalwart who has turned into a MAGA star. Some are supporting articles of impeachment against RFK and have lobbied against his policies and statements at every turn. But that skepticism is growing among the broader American public.
A recent YouGov poll found that 50% of Americans do not trust Kennedy to make the best decisions for Americans’ health and disapprove of his job performance overall, while 29% trust RFK’s decision-making and just 36% approve of his performance.
The public mood in this country is souring against Kennedy’s actions, not because of his stance on vaccines or even his tort lawyer tactics from a previous life, but because it all serves to distract from the very real reforms Americans care about. Outlandish claims require overwhelming evidence that can pass the smell test. On this metric alone, Kennedy has overstayed his welcome. Trump should move on.
Originally published here
