MSN

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement is facing criticism for strategic incompetence and playing it safe by concentrating its political resources on Republican primary races already destined for victory while ignoring endangered GOP candidates in crucial battleground contests.

According to a Politico analysis by Amanda Chu, the movement's political organizations—MAHA Action and MAHA Institute—have largely ducked the races that will determine congressional control, despite Kennedy's fervent supporters representing a boost in turnout that endangered Republicans desperately need.

The report singles out Tony Lyons, publisher of Kennedy's books and a lead organizer for the movement's political groups, for having failed to make use of Kennedy's appeal and turn it into the "electoral juggernaut" Republicans had hoped for.

"The majority of those candidates that got that endorsement were going to win anyway," John McCarthy, founder of McCarthy Strategic Solutions, a Republican political strategy firm in Kentucky, told Politico.

The numbers tell the story of missed opportunity. MAHA groups have endorsed just one Republican—freshman Michigan Rep. Tom Barrett—in a competitive House district, while ignoring the rest of the battleground races that will determine chamber control.

In the Senate, where Republicans must defend vulnerable seats in Alaska, Iowa, Maine, North Carolina, Ohio, and Texas, MAHA has backed no one, with no financial support or grassroots mobilization in these critical races.

Of the 20 candidates MAHA endorsed in primary races this spring, most were establishment figures in state races already aligned with MAHA's messaging on vaccine optionality and food regulation. Few received any financial backing from the movement's organizations.

According to Politico, Kennedy's actual impact has been limited to state-level politics. He has traveled extensively to state capitals promoting his agenda, and a Politico analysis found that state lawmakers introduced hundreds of bills with bipartisan support echoing his priorities—some of which have passed.

But the movement's impact on electoral politics remains an open question. State primary races have been dominated by economic concerns, with MAHA-backed candidates who won primaries focusing overwhelmingly on issues that defined the 2024 presidential election rather than Kennedy's signature health and food policy priorities.

More than two-thirds of MAHA-endorsed candidates emphasized affordability and tax cuts on their campaign websites, while nearly half focused on immigration. Less than one-third mentioned vaccine safety or food system policies central to Kennedy and his supporters, Chu elaborated.

Former Manhattan Metropolitan Correctional Center corrections officer Tova Noel testified before the House Oversight Committee last month offering new details about the night Jeffrey Epstein died in 2019—but left unanswered questions about a cryptic image captured on surveillance footage that has fueled conspiracy theories, ABC News is reporting.

Noel has remained a central figure in Epstein's death, having been accused of falsifying logs the night the accused human trafficker died. Her involvement has made her a target for threats and speculation about whether she played a role in facilitating or covering up his death.

In November 2019, Noel and another prison guard were accused of falsifying records to create the appearance they had completed routine rounds. Prosecutors alleged both officers spent most of their shifts at their desks browsing the internet instead, leaving inmates in the Special Housing Unit unchecked for eight hours until Epstein was discovered unresponsive in his cell.

Both Noel—a National Guard veteran who served during Operation Enduring Freedom in Kuwait—and her colleague ultimately reached deals with prosecutors. Their cases were dropped in December 2021, the report notes.

According to just-released transcripts of her testimony, Noel addressed one of the most persistent mysteries surrounding Epstein's death: Department of Justice documents reveal that investigators observed "an orange-colored shape moving up a staircase toward the isolated, locked tier" where Epstein's cell was located at approximately 10:39 p.m. on August 9, 2019, according to a report from CBS News.

Noel denied any knowledge of the unexplained orange flash. "To be very honest, I don't know what it is, who it is, because I never went back to the tier, and I was never carrying anything orange at all, and I never issued anything orange to anyone in the SHU -- not just only Epstein, just anyone," she said, according to the transcript.

According to ABC News, she also disputed that the timing of the orange flash aligned with when she conducted her count that night.

Beyond the mysterious footage, Noel shifted blame to systemic failures within the facility itself. She told lawmakers that the Metropolitan Correctional Center suffered from chronic understaffing and inadequate training, and that she was never properly trained to work in the unit where Epstein was housed.

Acknowledging her own mistakes on the night of Epstein's death, Noel asked lawmakers for the opportunity to move forward and distance herself from her association with the disgraced sex offender.