Key Trump Official Floats 2028 Run For POTUS

Some members of the MAGA coalition, not content with a second Trump administration, are already eyeing his successor — and it’s not J.D. Vance.

The vice president may have to contend with a challenger from Trump cabinet members eager to carry the MAGA mantle into 2028, including Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Department of the Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, all of whom ran for president in the past.

However, it appears RFK still holds considerable sway over members of the Make America Healthy Again movement that initially compelled him to run against former President Joe Biden in the Democratic primary.

A super PAC supporting Kennedy’s bid, long dormant, has shown signs of life. A recent organizing call of past supporters indicates that there is still a deep interest in seeing the black sheep of the iconic Kennedy clan make another bid for the White House.

A 2028 campaign wasn’t explicitly discussed, according to two sources familiar with the call. Instead, those leading the call seemed inclined to discuss broader ways to keep the MAHA movement alive and well defined amid a broader reckoning within the MAGA coalition over the Epstein investigation.

Tony Lyons, the PAC leader, scientist-turned-vaccine-skeptic Robert Malone, and top RFK advisor Stefanie Spear all took turns leading the call as they encouraged listeners to stay active. Actor Russell Brand and motivational speaker Tony Robbins were also on the call, sources told Axios.

The call was organized by MAHA Action, a nonprofit action committee formed by Lyons. Several call participants said the gathering seemed to indicate that Lyons is preparing to take an active role in RFK’s future electoral politics, should he choose to seek higher office again.

Super PACs may raise and spend unlimited sums but must remain independent of candidates’ official campaigns. However, since their establishment under the 2o1o Citizens United ruling, those firewalls have largely dissolved in practice as strategists have devised methods, both tacit and explicit, to coordinate without provoking investigations by the Federal Election Commission.

Kennedy has taken several actions as HHK secretary that have reinvigorated his base. Among them was his decision to fire top scientific advisors and flex his grip over executive boards at HHS and the FDA, where populations previously recommended for COVID-19 vaccinations are said to no longer need them.

Spear did not respond to a request from Axios to comment about the call, which lasted more than an hour.

Kennedy, the son of former U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and nephew of President John F. Kennedy, was essentially disowned by his family after he made the fateful decision to run against Biden in 2023. Relatives came forward to denounce his decision, and his lack of success in the Democratic primaries eventually led RFK to drop out and briefly run as an independent before endorsing Trump.

What followed was an amalgamation of pro-Trump conservative populists and health-conscious influencers who dominate social media and have inspired millions of parents to question the efficacy of vaccines in their children. Critics have charged that Kennedy’s influence at HHS has contributed to the largest outbreak of measles since the disease was largely eradicated in 2000. Kennedy has downplayed the outbreak and encouraged at-risk children to be vaccinated against the disease.