Last fall, Donald Trump stood on the stage at Madison Square Garden, heralding how he would deploy at Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
"I'm going to make him crazy and healthy," Trump said. "I'm going to make him crazy on food.
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Trump stood firm on his promise, named Kennedy Secretary of Health and Public Services and allowed him to freely continue pursuing the agenda of “make America healthy again”. But now, some Republicans want Trump to strip Kennedy of him, fearing his efforts could harm them in the midterm elections, by raising costs for farmers and consumers, as voters say prices remain their biggest concern.
A Republican strategist works in the mid-term competition. “RFK doesn’t care that Trump has burned a lot of money on the trade agenda and if he continues to pursue ‘Maha’ in this ideological way, then the costs will soar and our chances of success in the medium term will be jeopardized.”
"It's time to start handcuffing RFK."
The division highlights the magazine divide that conservatives are excited about Trump’s relaxation and tax cut agenda with new rights favoring protectionism, a rise in taxes on prescription drugs and price restrictions, Trump announced Monday in an execution order.
Kennedy's mission is at the forefront of this division. The cabinet secretary declared “sugar is poison” and has launched a war against the food industry, phased out synthetic food dyes and artificial food additives and prevented food stamps from being used in soda and candy. As part of the "Maha Committee" investigating chronic diseases, he promises to investigate any links to processed foods or pesticides. Kennedy has conducted a national tour to promote national legislation, and he believes it is crucial to have the food company negotiate with him.
Trump, known for eating McDonald's and drinking Coke, has repeatedly recognized Kennedy's efforts. The president's budget proposal includes $500 million in spending on Kennedy-backed Maha Venture. Last week, after replacing the surgeon’s draft pick with Kennedy allies, Trump said he did: “Because Bobby thought she was great.”
"Mr. President, I want to thank you...the busiest days of my life," Kennedy told Trump at a cabinet meeting last month. "We will do more in the next 100 days."
NBC News spoke with eight Republican agents and state lawmakers in this article, many of whom asked Anonymous to speak frankly about Kennedy’s efforts and potential election impact.
A second Republican, working in the middle of next year, warned that Kennedy's efforts will be attacked by farmers as he targets pesticides like glyphosate, a commonly used herbicide that is related to long-term adverse health effects.
"The basic story here is the real tension between traditional Republicans and the New Right Republicans," the man said. "The government believes that the battle within the Republican Party has been resolved. The more realistic way to look at it is... it's a fragile alliance at best and requires tender love and care to get together."
The person added that the agents engaged in the mid-time race “really want the ratchet back to the deregulation agenda with a focus on tax cuts.”
"Currently, confidence is not based on the reality of the White House, because they are completely correct in both tariff strategies and Maha strategies. It's dangerous," the man said.
Some Republican lawmakers expressed concern about Kennedy's efforts at the House hearing on Wednesday. R-Tenn. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann opposed the ban on synthetic dyes, saying they were "deemed safe for years", and Kennedy replied that "good science" links them to nerve damage and cancer. During the same hearing, former dentist R-Idaho Rep. Mike Simpson questioned Kennedy's anti-fluoride drive. People have voted on any impact Kennedy has on the medium term. An internal poll conducted by the Tyson Group last month was conducted by a data company consistent with the Republicans, and a public study of 813 by the Plymouth League, which may be the main Republican voters may find that if they are “participated with RFK Jr., they may be more expensive to treat food in terms of food regulation” and make them “support RFK Jr.”
However, the investigation also showed some of the advantages of Kennedy and Maha in terms of Republicans. It is worth noting that more than 40% of possible Republican major voters say that being with Kennedy would make them more likely to vote for the candidate, even at the expense of Trump. An economist/YouGov poll last month found that 42% of adults in the U.S. were good for Kennedy — aligned with Trump, higher than Vice President JD Vance and Cabinet Secretary Scott Bessent, Howard Lutnick and Kristi Noem.
Kennedy’s agency did not respond to a request for comment, saying Tuesday it was a reason for the cost issue. In a statement, both HHS and the Food and Drug Administration announced a “waived control program to reduce costs and authorize providers” to seek information to help “identify and eliminate outdated or unnecessary regulations.”
“Because the chronic disease crisis affects 60% of Americans, making America healthy again is a bipartisan and overwhelming issue that will ultimately reduce health care costs,” White House spokesman Anna Kelly said in a statement. “Empowering families to be healthy is with farmers who support us as the government is committed to shipping U.S. growing products on kitchen tables across the country.”
Although other Republicans who spoke with NBC News said they "heard complaints about the cost issues related to the Kennedy agenda," they either don't think they are particularly concerned about the midterm or think Maha's election benefits outweigh any potential price increase.
"It seems like they will be picking the wrong battle altogether," a Republican campaigner told Democrats. "If that's the battle they want to choose, that's great for me. I'm glad to have a debate."
This person and others also question whether the Moorha agenda will be roughly enacted enough to have any actual impact on costs by November 2026. Some state-level legislation can only achieve the full impact of the law until 2028, until 2028. On Tuesday, the White House inflation rate grew at the full rate in four years, and another 30 years, which is a huge speed, and this speed exceeded, causing 3 times, which is huge wear, which is huge wear, which is huge speed. Trump's tariffs have not been felt yet.
"In order for it to be a dialogue, a lot of hypotheses have to happen," the man said. "Will there be enough time frame before the election to make the cost go up? There are a lot of leaps to get to the point. It's weak if the left will hit us on RFK."
Maha's escalation in the Republican coalition was partly due to how credible the Trump allies have for Kennedy and their supporters as he brought Trump to the peak of last fall. Kennedy, who had run for president, quit the game and supported Trump at the moment when then-Vice President Kamala Harris built his momentum. R-GA. In a long interview with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, last week, said that joining the Trump League’s “Maha Movement” was “our victory.”
"Trump did a really good job coalition building," said a Republican agent. "Maha is a great part of it. ... If you can really get some wins there, I think it's huge. Food dye is the fruit of such a low level. It's easy for them to put some points on the board. Align with the rest of the world."
However, some disagreements in the Maha movement have emerged in recent days. After Trump announced he was withdrawing the nomination of Dr. Janette Nesheiwat as surgeon general and replacing her with Dr. Casey Means, a wellness entrepreneur and influencer, the pick came under fire from Kennedy's former running mate, Nicole Shanahan, who suggested Kennedy is being controlled by others around Trump. That Kennedy was tapped for health secretary came as a shock to many given that he had built up his bonafides in recent years as staunch anti-vaccine activists, repeatedly making false claims about vaccinating autism with children, among other controversies. Now, Kennedy is investigating the hypothetical links Trump calls for.
The Maha Food Agenda has more in common with traditional democratic policies. California was the first state to enact legislation last year to ban some food dyes, and Kennedy’s allies are supporting unanimous legislation there and in New Jersey. (Also, most of the Maha school lunch agenda responds to the initiative of former First Lady Michelle Obama, which was ridiculed by the Republican Party.)
Kennedy has visited states including Indiana, Utah, Arizona and West Virginia in recent months to promote state-level Maha initiatives or legislation to echo its federal priorities, including bills that prohibit artificial dyes and foods that are super-treated in schools.
To date, West Virginia has enacted the most extensive legislation in any Republican-unified country, banning many food dyes in all foods sold in the state starting in January 2028. West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrissey said he would also ask for federal immunity to limit foods containing soda.
Republican Adam Burkhammer, West Virginia, introduced food dye legislation in his state, saying that while his party has not yet fully embraced the Maha movement, he believes his agreement is that lawmakers “have to “have to do something different” to address health issues.
"I think our food is where we start," Burkhammer said. "It seems like an easy start. Now we can start looking at some other things, but let's clean up the food first. I think we're going to see health improvements right away with healthier food."
Burkhammer acknowledged that his legislation had concerns about food prices, but said rising prices should not prevent changes.
“I just really disagree with this notion that even if things are affordable, we should allow them to cause adverse health conditions for all of our populations, but in fact our children,” he said. “So I’m willing to offset this because I think the health of our children is more important.”
Utah Rep. Kristen Chevrier, a Republican, introduced a bill to ban artificial dyes in public schools in the state, and he said the Republicans are still on the Maha brand.
"When you say Maha, there are still some people who cringe, but these same people will vote for food dyeing in school," she said. "Some people just don't like the term, but II think they accept the concept."
Americans eventually need to rethink their relationship with food, she said.
"I think people just need to change the way they look at food," she continued. "We need to eat a lot less. We need to reduce the addiction to certain things. I think by getting rid of certain chemicals, we may find that we are less addicted to our diet. If you eat a small amount, maybe it will be cheaper."