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Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s cousin, Jack Schlossberg, has recently announced his decision to run for the congressional seat left behind by New York Representative Jerrold Nadler. Schlossberg, the 32-year-old grandson of former President John F. Kennedy, is a political commentator and writer who has been particularly critical of his cousin's views and his decision to support President Donald Trump in the November election, as well as his position in the administration. Newsweek reached out to the Department of Health and Human Services via email for comment outside of regular working hours. Why It Matters Schlossberg has garnered attention for his decision to run for a seat in Congress. His bid to bolster the Democratic Party's power to counter Trump and his allies suggests his campaign could exacerbate tensions within the Kennedy family. The 32-year-old's campaign comes at a time when many in the Democratic Party have been calling on the younger generation to take on the political battle against the Trump administration. His announcement came a week after democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani, 34, was elected mayor of New York City. What To Know When Kennedy decided to enter the 2024 presidential race as an independent, Schlossberg deemed it an "embarrassment" and a "vanity project." "I have no idea why anyone thinks he should be president," Schlossberg said in a video on Instagram at the time, and made his endorsement of former President Joe Biden clear. He also accused Kennedy of profiting from the family's name for personal gain. "President John F. Kennedy is my grandfather and his legacy is important," Schlossberg said. "It’s about a lot more than Camelot and conspiracy theories. It’s about public service and courage. It’s about civil rights, the Cuban missile crisis, and landing a man on the moon." When Kennedy later dropped out of the race, throwing his support behind President Donald Trump, Schlossberg wrote in a post on X: "Never been less surprised in my life. Been saying it for over a year — RFK jr is for sale, works for Trump. Bedfellows and loving it. Kamala Harris is for the people — the easiest decision of all time just got easier." Kennedy's support for Trump was divisive within the Kennedy family more broadly, as his siblings released a joint statement stating that his endorsement of Trump was a "betrayal of the values that our father and our family hold most dear." Schlossberg has also directly criticized his cousin's views on autism. In April this year, he shared a video on Instagram mocking Kennedy's assertion that "toxins," among other things, were driving autism rates in the country, despite most mainstream research determining genetics is its cause. In the video, he said: "RFK Jr...I have a challenge for you. Me and you, one-on-one, locked in a room, we hash this out. Nobody comes out until one of us has autism. What do you say?" As he announced his campaign, Schlossberg seized the moment to fire shots at Kennedy once again, calling him a “rabid dog" in an interview with MSNBC on Wednesday. “RFK Jr. is a dangerous person who is making life and death decisions as secretary of Health and Human Services,” Schlossberg told MSNBC. “And you don’t have to take my word for it. Now we have an actual record to go on. He has cut a quarter of the people who work in his agency. He fired all the vaccine experts on the [Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices] and replaced them with anti-vaxxers," he added. He also said that the measles outbreak in America was a "direct result" of what Kennedy has done, given that he is a well-known vaccine skeptic. What People Are Saying Jack Schlossberg said in his campaign launch video: "There is nowhere I’d rather be than in the arena fighting for my hometown. Over the next eight months, during the course of this campaign, I hope to meet as many of you as I can. If you see me on the street, please say hello. If I knock on your door, I hope we can have a conversation. Because politics should be personal." What Happens Next New York’s congressional primary election is on June 23, 2026.
