RFK Jr. is bringing psychedelics to the Republican Party

OG Article  By Erin Schumaker

July 01, 2025

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GOP Push for Psychedelic Therapies Gains Momentum with Kennedy’s SupportMotivated by a commitment to support veterans struggling with mental health challenges, Republican lawmakers last year launched an unsuccessful effort to persuade the Biden administration to authorize psychedelic treatments.

Now, they may have found a key partner in President Donald Trump’s health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.A vocal advocate for the potential of psychedelics to help those battling conditions like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression—despite skepticism from Biden officials citing limited evidence—Kennedy is fast-tracking government-funded clinical research. He’s also reassuring frustrated lawmakers that healthcare providers will soon be prescribing these substances.“These are people who urgently need effective treatment, as other options have proven inadequate,” Kennedy said during a House hearing on Tuesday.

“This class of therapies offers significant promise when used in a controlled clinical setting. We’re working diligently to make this a reality within the next year.”The Republican Party’s support for psychedelics represents a notable shift, reflecting the cultural changes driven by Trump’s populist agenda. Veterans seeking relief from combat-related mental health struggles, combined with enthusiasm for natural remedies from Kennedy’s “Make America Healthy Again” movement, have fueled a libertarian streak within the conservative base, advocating for innovative drug therapies. Meanwhile, the political left, increasingly dominated by technocrats rather than counterculture voices, has grown more cautious.

For example, during Joe Biden’s presidency, federal agencies explored the therapeutic potential of psychedelics, but skepticism prevailed. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, compared the enthusiasm for psychedelics as a mental health solution to believing in “fairy tales” during Senate testimony last year.In August, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rejected a proposal from drugmaker Lykos Therapeutics to offer ecstasy, combined with therapy, as a PTSD treatment. FDA advisors raised concerns that the company’s researchers displayed more enthusiasm than scientific rigor, failing to prove the safety or efficacy of their approach.

Republicans were the most vocal critics.“These bureaucrats think they know best,” Texas GOP Representative Dan Crenshaw, a former Navy SEAL who lost an eye in Afghanistan, wrote on X after FDA advisors opposed Lykos’ application. “Their job seems to be to block progress and maintain the status quo.

”Crenshaw, who has secured funding for psychedelic research at the Defense Department, received encouraging news from Kennedy at Tuesday’s budget hearing. Kennedy reported that preliminary findings from Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and FDA studies were “highly promising.” He added that his FDA commissioner, Marty Makary, shares this view. “Marty has told me we’re not waiting two years to move this forward,” Kennedy said.

Crenshaw expressed relief. “I’ve spent years advocating for clinical trials to explore psychedelics for PTSD treatment,” he told POLITICO. “It’s been a long fight, requiring immense persistence. I’m grateful Secretary Kennedy is taking this seriously—paving the way for a potential revolution in mental healthcare.”Kennedy’s comments have renewed hope among psychedelic advocates that the Lykos rejection was a temporary hurdle rather than a final verdict.

“It’s critical for the entire psychedelic therapy community to hear that he plans to thoughtfully evaluate the benefits and risks of these treatments,” said Dr. Shereef Elnahal, a VA health official under Biden who sees promise in these compounds.

The VA, under Trump’s secretary, Doug Collins, is working closely with Kennedy on clinical studies.Collins has discussed psychedelics on a podcast, on X, and during a cabinet meeting this spring when Trump urged him to address the high suicide rate among veterans.

“I talk about it with Collins regularly,” Kennedy said Tuesday. “It’s a priority we both care deeply about.”Psychedelics Gain Ground in Conservative StatesEarlier this month, Texas’ Republican governor, Greg Abbott, signed a bill allocating $50 million for clinical trials of the psychedelic ibogaine as a mental health treatment.

“That cultural shift is already underway,” W. Bryan Hubbard, who led the Texas bill and serves as executive director of the American Ibogaine Initiative, told POLITICO. Hubbard believes the perception of psychedelics has evolved from recreational counterculture to a viable medical solution for the “deaths of despair”—caused by alcohol, drug overdoses, and suicides—that have plagued the U.S. in recent decades.Kennedy voiced his support.

“It’s incredibly encouraging. It’s remarkable that Republicans are now championing issues you wouldn’t have expected,” Calley Means, a senior Kennedy advisor, told POLITICO.

“States taking bold steps align with Secretary Kennedy’s goals. It gives him leverage to push for transformative reforms.”The Texas initiative resulted from a six-month campaign by Hubbard and former GOP Governor Rick Perry to convince state lawmakers. Representative Morgan Luttrell, another Texas Republican who credits ibogaine treatment in Mexico with helping him overcome military-related trauma, also supported the effort.

Hubbard credits their success to Texas’ independent spirit and a conservative philosophy open to a medicalized psychedelics model. It also helped that Abbott had previously approved a bill to study ecstasy, psilocybin, and ketamine for veterans with PTSD, in collaboration with Baylor College of Medicine. Additionally, Texans’ familiarity with spiritual concepts made discussions about ibogaine’s deeper dimensions resonate with lawmakers.“Our message was tailor-made for the Lone Star State,” Hubbard said.

Veterans shared their stories at public hearings, recounting trips to Mexico, where ibogaine is unregulated, to access treatment unavailable in the U.S.“These heroes fought for our freedom, only to return home to rigid, bureaucratic systems offering ineffective solutions and a Controlled Substances Act that forces them to seek treatment abroad,” Hubbard said.

A significant boost came from conservative influencer Joe Rogan, who hosted Hubbard and Perry on his podcast in January.“That gave us a tremendous push,” Hubbard noted.Ongoing Questions and ChallengesDespite the enthusiasm, last year’s FDA rejection of Lykos Therapeutics’ application underscores concerns among scientists that the benefits of psychedelics may be overstated. FDA advisors highlighted ecstasy’s potential risks to the heart and liver, questioned the objectivity of trial researchers, and noted that the drugs’ noticeable effects made it easy for participants to know whether they received the treatment, potentially skewing results.Ibogaine also poses cardiac risks.

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) classifies both ibogaine and ecstasy as substances with no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse—a designation that once deterred conservative support.Kennedy’s advisor Means argues that times have changed.“A decade ago, no one would have predicted the Republican Party would champion wholesome food, exercise–System