Resistance to Public Health, No Longer Fringe, Gains Foothold in G.O.P. Politics

Resistance to public health, relegated to the fringes of the American right and left before Covid vaccine mandates became a cultural flashpoint and a symbol of government overreach, now has a firm foothold in Republican politics — and a chance to wield real power in Washington.

The merger of the Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Donald J. Trump presidential campaigns has put the movement’s most prominent leader within reach of a White House job or federal health position. Around the country, nearly 1,000 candidates, nearly all Republican, are seeking office with the backing of Stand for Health Freedom, a Florida nonprofit.

The movement even has a Trump-inspired slogan: Make America Healthy Again.

Now, the remnants of Mr. Kennedy’s campaign apparatus are organizing their efforts around Mr. Trump’s presidential bid. On Monday, former Kennedy campaign officials unveiled a new super PAC, The MAHA Alliance, led by Del Bigtree, Mr. Kennedy’s former communications director, and Brigid Rasmussen, his former chief of staff.

“The medical freedom movement,” Mr. Bigtree said, “now finds itself inches away from being represented inside the White House and inside the regulatory agencies of America.” Mr. Bigtree, who hosts a popular podcast, “The HighWire,” is the founder of Informed Consent Action Network — an advocacy group that has worked to loosen vaccine mandates and is petitioning the Food and Drug Administration to withdraw its approval of certain vaccines for hepatitis B and polio.

In an interview on Tuesday, he said The MAHA Alliance had already raised $4 million and was hoping to attract “independent voters who want to see a political system that reaches across the aisle, instead of living in this incredibly polarized atmosphere that’s tearing our nation apart.”

In a YouTube video earlier this week, Mr. Kennedy promised to “clean up the public health agencies,” including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health and the F.D.A. He also urged viewers to buy green Make America Healthy Again hats, which are available on his website for $35.

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