Copyright The Boston Globe
WASHINGTON — In late August, a photographer in Santa Monica, California, stumbled on an odd sight. Parked at the beach was a bus emblazoned with “Kennedy 2024″ and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s smiling face. The “spotted” post on Instagram was just the beginning of what appears to have been a cross-country trip for what was the official bus of Kennedy’s now-defunct presidential campaign. Days later, in early September, it was spotted in Reno, Nevada, with bicycles mounted on the back, and then again in Venice, California. In between, it appears to have been at the desert art and culture festival Burning Man, according to multiple posts on Reddit. By mid-September, the bus was in Washington, D.C., according to Reddit and X posts. Last Thursday, it popped up in D.C. again, near a local fast food restaurant, where it may have evaded a parking ticket thanks to the likeness on the side. But reached for comment, Kennedy’s campaign and his office at the US Department of Health and Human Services, through the Republican National Committee, each said they were no longer affiliated with the bus. Advertisement This all begged the question: Who was driving this bus, and why? As of now, it remains unclear. The bus — actually a used converted RV — was purchased in Florida in 2023 for roughly $191,000, according to campaign finance records. It was registered in Florida shortly thereafter and maintained Florida license plates, according to photos, ticket records, and Florida state records. The bus was then sold in March 2025 for $165,000 to an outside advocacy group that supports Kennedy’s message, MAHA Action, according to the campaign and Federal Election Commission records. The same day, the group also bought podcasting equipment, website addresses, and email lists from the campaign for nearly $1.2 million. The president of MAHA Action, Tony Lyons, said the group does not currently own the vehicle, but did not answer follow-up questions about what happened to it. Del Bigtree, the former leader of MAHA Action who was there in March when the bus initially changed hands, did not respond to requests for comment. Advertisement As of Oct 21, the bus had an active title, but its Florida registration came up as having expired in June, according to a state database. A Carfax report as of Oct. 23. showed no registered change in ownership since the campaign began using it. A resident who saw the bus in D.C. last Thursday said it did not have license plates, according to his post on X and his responses to the Globe. After reporting the vehicle for lacking plates and parking illegally, the city closed the request, saying that the bus had not committed any violations as it was “Director of Health Kennedy Jr. health tour bus.” A spokesperson for the Department of Public Works said the bus would have been legally allowed to park on that street for two hours, and “no citation was issued — either because the bus was in compliance with the street signage or because it was no longer at the location when parking enforcement arrived." The Department of Health and Human Services, which Kennedy now helms, has no affiliation with the bus, according to the Republican National Committee, to which HHS had referred questions as they touched on campaign matters. The RNC did not know who currently owned the bus. It is highly unusual for campaigns, especially at the presidential level, to purchase their own campaign bus. Candidates typically rent such buses, similar to concert tour vehicles, from companies that specialize in handling the complex liability and government registration requirements involved, and then take the vehicle back when it’s no longer needed. Such services can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, according to campaign finance records. While having the vehicles wrapped in branding can cost thousands of dollars, removal of the vinyl is less difficult and theoretically doable by laypeople. Advertisement It is permissible for campaigns to own vehicles under specific rules, according to FEC guidance. The vehicle is to be used for campaign purposes, and any personal use beyond a “de minimis” amount is supposed to be reimbursed to the campaign at a fair market rate. Kennedy ended his independent presidential campaign and endorsed President Trump in August 2024, joining forces and creating the “Make America Healthy Again” brand that he now spearheads as Health Secretary. Even after he dropped his bid, his campaign remained active to fundraise under the auspices of “MAHA,” supporting Trump and working to retire Kennedy’s significant campaign debt. The campaign spokesperson said the debt was paid off in May, and the campaign is winding down in hopes of officially terminating operations by the end of the year. Asked how Kennedy feels about his former bus, with his face still on it and apparently in private hands, neither HHS nor the RNC responded. Tal Kopan can be reached at tal.kopan@globe.com. Follow her @talkopan.
