Booker's MAHA play
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Many Democrats hate Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. But New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker told Axios he "absolutely" supports some of the controversial HHS secretary's policies — particularly when it comes to food.
- Booker likes Kennedy's increased testing of infant formula for micro plastics and other materials, pushing for less ultra-processed food, and his pilot program to have schools serve more-healthful meals, an aide to the senator told Axios.
Why it matters: Booker, a potential 2028 presidential candidate, wants to appeal to some of the health-conscious voters Kennedy rallied during his 2024 presidential bid — first as a Democrat, then as an independent who eventually endorsed Donald Trump.
- "There are moves that they've made that I think are really important, and I wish they were more robust," Booker told Axios about food-related actions by Kennedy's HHS.
Driving the news: At a Center for American Progress conference last week with several other potential 2028 presidential candidates, Booker said Democrats need to reach out to the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement.
- He said parents are right to be concerned about the food they and their children are consuming.
- "A movement called MAHA caught fire in the vacuum we left behind," he told fellow Democrats. "We should not be fighting that movement. We should be telling those loving moms and dads that they are right."
- He said Americans are facing a "quiet emergency" with the "worst chronic disease epidemic in the history of our nation" — an echo of a line Kennedy has used frequently.
Booker said voters should be worried about cancer rates in young people, obesity, diabetes, factory farms, and "cheap, ultra-processed foods making us sick."
- In an interview afterward with Axios, Booker said he has disagreements with Kennedy — he voted against his confirmation — but that "to have the first secretary of HHS to stand up and call it out, at least say a lot of the right things, and do some things in that direction, is nothing but exciting to me."
Between the lines: Most Democrats oppose Kennedy and are wary of MAHA because of the movement's vaccine skepticism.
- Booker is betting some MAHA voters can be won back to the Democratic Party without talking about vaccines.
- Booker is also arguing that President Trump has betrayed MAHA voters' trust by embracing large agricultural companies and other big corporations.
What's next: Booker introduced a bill last summer called the Pesticide Injury Accountability Act, which would increase the liability of companies for potential health effects of their products.
- Booker also is pushing for all food the U.S. government pays for to be a "healthy meal," and other reforms.
- "The [Food and Drug Adminstration], frankly, should put the 'F' back in the FDA," he said.
