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A balancing act awaits congressional Democrats when they take control of Congress in January: how hard it is to go after Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. without alienating the movement they hope to win over. One of their many oversight targets will be Kennedy himself. His overhaul of longstanding vaccine guidance and his 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 common ground with Kennedy's Make America Healthy Again followers to secure 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.
