A political group with ties to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has pledged $1 million to support a likely challenger to Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., the head of a key Senate committee who provided a pivotal vote for Kennedy’s confirmation as Health and Human Services secretary.
MAHA PAC announced Sunday night it would help bankroll the expected Senate campaign of Louisiana Republican Rep. Julia Letlow, who earned the endorsement of President Donald Trump over the weekend.
Letlow has not formally announced a run for Cassidy’s seat, but Trump’s backing of a potential Republican challenger ensures a heated GOP primary and imperils the incumbent’s reelection chances. Cassidy is one of six Senate Republicans to vote to convict Trump in his second impeachment trial in 2021.
“President Trump is committed to ending the chronic disease epidemic, and Louisianans deserve a Senator who will stand with him in that fight,” wrote Tony Lyons, the co-founder of MAHA PAC and a close friend of Kennedy.
“Congresswoman Letlow has proven herself a tireless champion for Louisiana families. We strongly encourage her to answer President Trump’s call and enter this race,” Lyons added.
MAHA PAC has sought to put financial might behind marketing Kennedy’s priorities at HHS. The group is spearheaded by Lyons and Mark Gorton, who raised millions of dollars for a pro-Kennedy super PAC during his presidential campaign, and its finance committee includes several longtime associates of Kennedy.
Lyons has also been involved with MAHA Action, a non-profit group that holds events with Kennedy and hosts a weekly virtual meeting with health advocates and members of the administration.
The relationship between Cassidy and Kennedy has become increasingly strained in recent months, with Cassidy, a physician vocal supporter of vaccines, criticizing Kennedy for reducing the number of recommended vaccines on the childhood vaccine schedule and for firing the former head of the Centers for Disease Control.
Cassidy, the chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, cast the crucial vote last February to advance Kennedy’s nomination for HHS secretary. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., unsuccessfully encouraged Trump to to stick with Cassidy, according to the New York Times. Despite his opposition to Kennedy’s stance on vaccines, Cassidy noted that Kennedy had made certain promises, including to maintain the recommendations of the CDC’s independent vaccine advisory panel. Within months, however, Kennedy fired all 17 members of that committee and replaced them with handpicked members, many of whom had expressed vaccine-skeptical views. Those new members voted in September to weaken the recommendations for certain vaccines. Then, in January, Kennedy bypassed the committee altogether and announced a new childhood vaccine schedule aligned with Denmark and other European countries. Cassidy’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment about MAHA PAC’s support of Letlow. After Trump’s endorsement, the senator posted this to X: “I’m proudly running for re-election as a principled conservative who gets things done for the people of Louisiana. If Congresswoman Letlow decides to run I am confident I will win.”Recommended
