Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks to a reporter shortly before ending press conference in Tampa
Wednesday, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. abruptly ended a press gaggle with local media when asked about his ties to a kratom company.
The incident occurred while Kennedy and Senator Ashley Moody promoted the Harvest to Hallways initiative at a Tampa elementary school. The new federal initiative encourages schools to use local meat and produce in their lunches, but it doesn’t increase their food budgets.
The initiative does include $25 million in Farm to School grants. That’s less than 4% of the $660 million the Trump administration slashed by eliminating the Local Food for Schools program last year.
The Iowa Cattlemen’s Association told KWQC that this initiative is a drop in the bucket compared to the funding lost last year. The Florida Cattlemen’s Association was not immediately available for comment.
“The programs that were canceled were programs that were not functioning,” Kennedy said.
Last year, Ernesto Ruiz with the Farmworkers Association of Florida told WFLA the cuts would result in less work and lower wages for Florida’s farmworkers.
At least 1.5 million children have lost access to Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program benefits under the Trump administration. Kennedy told WMNF he wasn’t worried about the cuts affecting kids’ nutrition.
“The only people kicked off of SNAP were people who were not eligible for it,” Kennedy said. “They were not eligible because their income is too high or because they were illegal aliens.”
Kratom ties
One reporter questioned Kennedy over his ties to Botanic Tonics, the maker of a kratom drink called Feel Free. The Department of Justice dropped a product safety lawsuit against the company earlier this year. In the weeks following, Kennedy’s Make America Healthy Again PAC received $1 million from the company.
A Democratic member of the Senate Finance Committee opened an investigation into Kennedy for the connection. When a Sky News reporter asked him about the money, Moody quickly stepped in to end the press gaggle.
“Thank you very much for joining us today to talk about our kids and their healthy futures,” Moody said, cutting off the reporter mid-sentence. The press gaggle ended after less than 12 minutes.