When introducing Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as his nominee for secretary of Health and Human Services, then-President-elect Trump called him “another great mind and great guy, and so popular.”
“He wants to make people healthy. It’s driven him pretty wild over the last number of years,” he added.
In nominating Kennedy, a scion of the last century’s most iconic Democratic family and a lifelong Democrat before his independent run for president, Trump signaled that his America First agenda was not rigidly ideological or partisan, but open to policies and approaches — whatever their pedigree — with the potential to advance his vision of a greater nation.
Within a Cabinet that would largely be at home serving Ronald Reagan, Trump found a place for former Democrats like Kennedy and current Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard in the belief their left-leaning aspirations were a thing of the past.
But for Kennedy, some old habits die hard.
As he travels the country to spread his” Make America Healthy Again” gospel, Kennedy is becoming the darling of conservative outlets like Fox News and Newsmax.
Meanwhile he remains disturbingly aligned with national trial lawyers, a carnivorous bunch as dogged as any interest group on the left devoted to thwarting Trump’s policies.
There is no evidence Kennedy is insincere in his stated desire to see Americans live healthier lives after decades of data pointing to our collective health trending downward.
But his ongoing association and financial ties to predatory big-box law firms create a headache of conflicts that mix with MAGA like sugar in a gas tank.
For decades, conservatives from Reagan to Trump championed private industry as the backbone of our economy and the engine driving American prosperity. But Secretary Kennedy’s perch within the Cabinet remains a potential threat to this core principle.
Trump may have been joking when he said Kennedy’s views on health have “driven him pretty wild,” a point with which nobody in Washington would argue. It is concerning, then, to see Kennedy’s particular brand of fervor now spreading into the Republican Party.
As one example, conservative stalwart Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) is proposing legislation that would enrich the trial lobby, exposing innovative American businesses to financial ruin based on faulty science and hearsay claims.
This isn’t part of a new, worker-focused economic agenda but a bread-and-butter money grab off the backs of American businesses and workers that has long been a pillar of Democratic orthodoxy.
This becomes painfully apparent when considering that around 80 percent of trial lawyer political donations go to Democrats.
As Kennedy placates frustrated conservatives with blanket finger pointing at food companies, drug makers and farmers, he sits on millions of dollars of trial lawyer payouts from people like Democratic megadonor John Morgan, one of the most prominent trial lawyers in America.
For several years, Kennedy was of counsel at Morgan and Morgan, working to help line the pockets of Morgan and his partners, who used their wealth to raise millions of dollars for Democratic candidates, including a fundraiser in Morgan’s home that raised $1.7 million for President Biden’s 2020 election campaign.
“Any time Nancy Pelosi asks me for money, I give it,” gushed Morgan, adding “Whatever she wants, I will do. I wish she was president.”
It is a mighty large leap of faith to blindly accept that Kennedy can loyally serve President Trump while so deeply aligned with the man funding Trump’s biggest political enemy.
Democratic allegiances aside, Kennedy and his former associates stand to benefit financially from his policy proposals.
Kennedy made millions working at Wisner Baum, a Los Angeles law firm co-led by Michael Baum, a major Democratic donor who funded Jill Stein’s efforts to overturn President Trump’s 2016 victory.
His firm manages cases that could continue to bring Kennedy fees, even as he serves as Health and Human Services secretary.
There is little doubt that Kennedy’s endorsement paid dividends for Trump’s winning 2024 campaign. But Trump and his voters’ gratitude should not cause anyone to wear blinders.
The interests of mega trial lawyers and a booming private economy don’t mix, period.
We should hope that Trump emphasizes this point to Kennedy and watches the secretary’s words and actions to be clear about which side he is on.
Gerard Scimeca is an attorney and serves as chairman and co-founder of Consumer Action for a Strong Economy, a free-market consumer advocacy organization.