The New Group of Women Helping Reshape Republican Politics | WSJ

TL;DR

MAHA-aligned women influencers and wellness advocates are reshaping Republican politics by pushing RFK Jr.'s health agenda while critically evaluating Trump's delivery on key promises.

Key Points

• 1.Jessica Reed Krauss embodies a new non-traditional Republican archetype. Known as 'House and Habit,' she built her following through RFK Jr.'s campaign, was alienated from Democrats over COVID vaccine mandates, and now hosts monthly mini town halls with early MAHA movement women to assess the Trump administration.
• 2.The MAHA women attending are not ideologically hardline Republicans. Several didn't vote for Trump out of party loyalty — one voted for Hillary in 2016, one missed voting entirely while at Mar-a-Lago, and most say they backed Trump solely because of Kennedy's alliance with him.
• 3.Glyphosate protections are the biggest fracture point within the movement. Trump's February executive order granting legal immunity to glyphosate producers deeply upset the group; their core objection isn't the chemical's presence in agriculture but the indefinite liability shield protecting manufacturers from lawsuits.
• 4.Kennedy's updated vaccine schedule sparked both support and backlash. In January, HHS cut recommended childhood vaccines, drawing condemnation from the American Academy of Pediatrics as 'dangerous'; a federal judge blocked implementation in March, while the women frame their stance as 'vaccine choice' rather than anti-vax.
• 5.Kennedy's new food pyramid received cautious praise but criticism for not going far enough. Released in January, it emphasized protein, healthy fats, and reduced processed food; the women support the direction but argue the written document didn't match the bold talking points about fat and sugar.
• 6.Overall, the group remains cautiously optimistic but conditional in their support. All expressed 'wait and see' attitudes — supportive of the administration's health direction but willing to withdraw support if promises aren't kept, reflecting a pragmatic rather than partisan loyalty to Trump.