A Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) run by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. will likely go after crony interests in the health bureaucracy. If RFK Jr. wants to "Make America Healthy Again," then this would be a good start. However, not every change in the new administration is likely to be beneficial. For example, RFK Jr.—a lifelong progressive—will definitely not be afraid to use government intervention to achieve his policy objectives.

That said, there is hope that he will at least be open to eliminating government interventions if they are found to foster negative health outcomes. The policies governing the market for high-fructose corn syrup offer a clear opportunity in this regard.

RFK Jr. has called attention to corn syrup for causing childhood obesity before, so getting rid of this sugar substitute, which is commonly found in soft drinks, seems like something he wants to focus on. There are two ways that RFK Jr. can oppose corn syrup while also restoring the free market—by targeting corn subsidies and sugar import restrictions.

Corn Subsidies

First of all, corn subsidies can be decreased or abolished entirely. Corn growers earn about $2.2 billion in federal subsidies each year. Corn subsidies also consequently subsidize the production of high-fructose corn syrup, leading to an "overconsumption." If these subsidies were eliminated, then cane sugar would be relatively more affordable to use in soft drinks and many other products. There would doubtlessly be a transition away from corn syrup and back into cane sugar.

Consistent defenders of the free market are enemies of all government subsidies, so this would be the perfect move for RFK Jr. and the Trump administration if they want to throw their libertarian-oriented supporters a bone. If they were to eliminate corn subsidies, they would not simply be encouraging the use of cane sugar over corn syrup; they would also be extending laissez-faire economic policy to the corn industry.

Of course, corn growers will not support this. The corn lobby is very politically active, so the effort to eliminate corn subsidies will not go unchallenged. For instance, the Corn Refiners Association—the organization that represents those who refine corn into corn syrup—donated $600,000 in 2024 to federal-level politicians and PACs. The National Corn Growers Association donated $250,000.

If the opposition by the corn lobby poses too much of a challenge, then RFK Jr. and the Trump administration can turn their sights on eliminating another policy: import restrictions on sugar.