The Make America Healthy Again Summit in Washington last month was a celebration for Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the movement he leads. It also demonstrated that the Trump administration has doubled down on tying itself to a highly polarizing figure, a man who has spent his entire professional life vigorously opposing the policies of his boss and Cabinet colleagues, who are likely wondering why they are serving with a former Hillary Clinton supporter who has made millions suing American companies that create jobs and sustain our economy.
Meanwhile, President Trump’s second term has been, by almost every metric, as bold and transformative as candidate Trump pledged it would be. From negotiating unprecedented investments in American businesses and workers, to facilitating the end of otherwise intractable overseas conflicts, to revitalizing America’s energy production, the president is delivering in the areas Americans hoped he would.
This doubling down of support for Kennedy has the potential to deal a real blow to Republicans in future elections and permanently mar Trump’s legacy. As Republicans contemplate the path to retaining Congress in 2026, they must seriously evaluate Kennedy’s words and deeds.
While the rest of the Cabinet is working to execute Trump’s “America First” agenda, Kennedy is generating chaos and pushing policies that prioritize trial lawyers over the regular Americans who comprise the president’s base.
Consider his financial entanglements. During his confirmation hearing to become Health and Human Services secretary, Kennedy pledged to sever his ties to the trial bar, a group that exists solely to shake down American businesses to line its own pockets. Yet, reports indicate he has maintained financial interests in pending litigation through family transfers, giving him a direct financial interest in legal cases handled by his department.
His policy record is equally riddled with reversals. During his Senate confirmation hearings, Kennedy famously promised he would not “take away” vaccines from those who want them and would only seek to improve their safety and increase transparency in manufacturing and distribution processes.
His actions raise more questions. By firing the entire Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and moving to undermine vaccines deemed safe by years of scientific studies, he has broken faith with the tens of millions of Americans, including many reliable Republican voters, who trust and take these treatments. This sort of bureaucratic overreach is what Trump and conservatives have fought for decades.
Perhaps most disappointing is his failure on the issue he claimed was his priority: the chronic disease epidemic. Kennedy promised a “moonshot” effort to research environmental causes of autism and promised that his department would provide answers by this past September.
Of course, that deadline has come and gone. Instead, Kennedy dangerously stated that acetaminophen (Tylenol) use in pregnancy causes autism and gifted the trial bar an opportunity to appeal already dismissed litigation that found the links to Tylenol and autism rooted in faulty science.
Under Kennedy’s leadership, America is ceding its dominance in public health, and trust in medical guidance is eroding. It’s unclear how this chaos and destruction will ultimately benefit Americans.
Recent polling data reveals the cost of this chaos: 59 percent of Americans disapprove of Kennedy’s policy decisions at HHS. Voters do not trust his vision, they do not believe he is making the nation healthier, and they feel they have nowhere to turn for reliable health guidance. Criticism of Kennedy has become a rare source of bipartisanship in Washington, creating an unnecessary electoral liability that could threaten the administration’s broader agenda in the 2026 midterms.
It is clear that Trump is a fan of Kennedy’s “disruptive” actions, most likely because they mirror his own approach and philosophy. Issues like tariffs, taxes, spending, etc., are discretionary, unlike Kennedy’s charge, which should be based on the best available science and input from top experts.
With the midterms now less than a year away, the GOP cannot afford rogue Cabinet secretaries who break promises, enact policies not based on any empirical science, and maintain a cozy financial relationship with trial lawyers, the most active and well-funded anti-Trump people in the country.
Trump is betting the future of conservatism on a lifelong liberal Democrat with ties to the trial bar who puts his own ego before the American people — and that’s a dangerous bet.