NEW YORK — When Democrats take over Congress in January, one of their many oversight targets will be Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whose overhaul of longstanding vaccine guidance and cuts to medical research over the past two years have drawn fiery criticism. Some high-ranking lawmakers have suggested impeaching him. But those efforts could conflict with another growing priority for many lawmakers on the left: nurturing areas of common ground with Kennedy’s Make America Healthy Again followers with the aim of securing their political support. It could prove a difficult balance, since many MAHA activists whom Democrats are courting as part of their new coalition still view Kennedy as their closest ally. “It’s an unenviable position for Democrats to be in,” said Matt Motta, a professor at Boston University School of Public Health. In addition to treading carefully not to upset MAHA voters, Motta said, the lawmakers will also have to answer to a left-leaning base that wants more accountability from Kennedy on vaccines as measles outbreaks surge around the country. Some members of the MAHA movement said they’re eager to work with Democrats to pass legislation on shared interests, like regulating pesticides and making school lunches healthier. But extensive investigations into Kennedy, or hostility toward him, could complicate those collaborations. “I’m not saying that the Democratic leadership can’t continue to have an irrational war on Secretary Kennedy until they collapse,” said Mark Gorton, president of the Kennedy-aligned MAHA Institute. “But when they do that, they alienate all the MAHA voters out there, the people who really care about fighting corporate capture.” Democrats are ready to hold Kennedy’s feet to the fire Kennedy, a lifelong Democrat before running for president as an independent in 2024 and then throwing his support behind President Donald Trump’s campaign, has repeatedly clashed with his former party since joining the Trump administration. Democrats have assailed his Health and Human Services Department for sweeping staffing cuts unleashed as part of Trump’s government efficiency push and for the decision to eliminate areas of scientific study that the administration deemed too focused on diversity, equity and inclusion. They’ve also grilled him in congressional hearings over his efforts to change government vaccine policies while sidestepping long-held protocols for that reform. Accordingly, when Democrats swept the midterm elections last week, many took to social media to call for Kennedy to vacate his position. “Unless RFK Jr. is interested in spending the next two years in front of congressional committees, he should go ahead and resign now,” Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., wrote on social media. Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., most likely the next chair of the House Judiciary Committee, has vowed to investigate Kennedy’s “wrongdoing.” Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., said on CNN that Kennedy should be one of two high-priority targets for impeachment for the House majority next year. And Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who is poised to take over the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, which has jurisdiction over Kennedy’s department, told the network he is “absolutely open” to that idea. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., who is expected next year to chair another committee with HHS jurisdiction, the Senate Finance Committee, told The Associated Press he plans to hold Kennedy and the administration accountable “for actions that have harmed children, raised health costs, and made America less healthy.” He already launched two investigations this week into Kennedy — one into the accuracy of his testimony about a 2019 trip to Samoa and the other into his reported acceptance of hundreds of thousands of dollars in lavish gifts. “For those that have broken the law and betrayed the trust of taxpayers and American families, nothing should be off the table,” Wyden said. But Democrats also see MAHA followers as potential supporters Even as many Democrats want to see Kennedy answer for his actions, others are open to working with him – and certainly with his followers. With at least some aspects of the sprawling MAHA movement resonating with U.S. adults of both parties, such as reducing processed foods and addressing government corruption, the new Congress creates a rare opportunity for coalition building. It also helps Democrats that many MAHA followers have soured on the Republican Trump administration, seeing recent actions like an executive order boosting pesticide use as a betrayal of their trust. More cracks in that support have emerged since the election. Calley Means, a former administration adviser and top MAHA advocate recently accused White House officials of catering to foreign and domestic lobbyists at the expense of Americans’ health. But in the interviews where he made those accusations, he also praised Kennedy. Maine Rep. Chellie Pingree, Massachusetts Rep. Jim McGovern and New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker are among those who have teamed up with MAHA activists to devise proposals on topics like regenerative agriculture, healthy school lunches and liability for pesticide manufacturers. Pingree told the AP she hopes that cooperation can continue, even though many of her MAHA-aligned contacts remain strong supporters of Kennedy. Whether Democratic colleagues try to impeach Kennedy is “out of my hands,” she said. But “if he’s still there, I’m hoping we can continue to work on some of these things and make whatever gains we can.” McGovern said he’s been clear with MAHA leaders he works with that “we need to hold RFK Jr. accountable for his broken promises and lying to his supporters while enabling the corruption he swore he would stand up to.” “The MAHA leaders I’m talking to quietly agree and are ready to move forward together to actually fix the broken status quo in Washington,” he said. New Democratic additions to Congress are also cautiously open to working with Kennedy and his followers. Sen.-elect Abdul El-Sayed, a former public health official, has called Kennedy a grifter and told the AP he wants to understand how his department made decisions over the past two years on issues like vaccine recommendations. But he said he could still collaborate with Kennedy on policies to make America healthier, on one condition. “If he wants to be evidence driven, I’ll work with him,” El-Sayed said. Boosting health affordability could be Democrats’ most urgent task Democrats will also be balancing MAHA-minded legislation with goals that resonate with an even wider swath of Americans: lowering health costs and boosting healthcare access. They plan to vote quickly to reinstate the healthcare tax credits for the Affordable Care Act, which expired in late 2025, leaving millions of Americans confronting higher health insurance costs. Proposals are also ready to reverse the Medicaid funding reductions that Republicans put in place as part of their sweeping bill of tax breaks and program cuts, including new work requirements for recipients. Motta said Democrats’ ability to pass those kinds of changes will be one of the most important factors for keeping support among the independent and swing voters who cast ballots for them this year. “Above all, people want the price of healthcare to go down,” he said. “The people who can do that for them are the people who will be rewarded at the ballot box.” Ali Swenson, The Associated Press
