A Make America Healthy Again event in Tampa ended abruptly Wednesday after Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was pressed by a reporter about a $1 million donation his political action committee received from a kratom company.
Kennedy and Florida Sen. Ashley Moody had been promoting the Harvest to Hallways school nutrition initiative at a Tampa elementary school when Sky Newscorrespondent Martha Kelner raised the issue during a press gaggle.
Kelner asked Kennedy directly about the Justice Department’s decision to drop a case against Botanic Tonics, the maker of the kratom drink Feel Free, and the donation the company’s founder, J.W. Ross, subsequently made to Kennedy’s Make America Healthy Again PAC.
“The Justice Department dropped its case against Feel Free, and MAHA PAC received a $1 million donation,” Kelner said.
“Does that have anything to do with the DOJ?”
Kennedy responded, “I don’t know anything about either of the things that you just said.”
When Kelner pressed further, naming Ross directly, Moody intervened, telling the room, “Thank you very much for joining us today to talk about our kids and their healthy futures,” and cutting the press availability short after less than 12 minutes.
According to reporting from The New York Times, Botanic Tonics’ $1 million contribution accounted for roughly 44% of the MAHA PAC’s total fundraising through April.
The Timesreported that a federal judge had cleared the way for prosecution against the company in December, only for the Justice Department to move to drop its own case within two weeks.
A Democratic member of the Senate Finance Committee has since opened an investigation into Kennedy over the connection.
Kennedy has separately announced a ban on synthesized 7-OH, a stronger kratom compound sold by some of Botanic Tonics’ competitors, while the FDA’s former commissioner has said the agency is “not targeting the kratom leaf” itself.
2026-08-28 08:06:00
