“A new diet is sweeping through President Trump's cabinet -- and it involves heaping portions of sauerkraut.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Vice President JD Vance have all embraced the diet, drawn by the promise of slimmer waistlines and glowing skin.
They all apparently have determined the health benefits outweigh the slightly sulfurous odors that have been the cause of some domestic friction.
"Within 30 days I lost 20 pounds," Kennedy said at an event in Michigan this week. "JD Vance is also on the diet and you can see how different he looks."
The diet is the brainchild of Dr. Sean O'Mara, who advises his high-profile patients to eat fermented foods such as sauerkraut and kimchi, alongside grass-fed steak -- and to abstain from alcohol and sugary food.
O'Mara says the diet leads to a reduction in visceral fat, which wraps around organs, as well as a more robust microbiome, which can help with digestion.
Kennedy, 72, was the first to convert. Lutnick, 64, and Duffy, 54, followed suit. Vance, 41, committed to the diet for Lent earlier this year, and has stuck with it.
"I tend to like to work with older people because the ROI is so much greater . . . it's like taking over a sinking ship, a company that is headed to bankruptcy," O'Mara said. He declined to discuss his patients, citing privacy concerns. But people familiar with the matter said Kennedy, Lutnick and Duffy have all seen O'Mara.
Kennedy began the diet about a year ago after meeting with O'Mara. Though he is sometimes turned off by the tangy and pungent taste of sauerkraut, he found the diet helped him shed fat, and reduced aches and pains. He also credits it with eliminating the atrial fibrillations he had been experiencing.
The Trump administration officials on the diet have been known to trade tips when they are gathered at the White House. Online commentators recently remarked that Vance was looking thin in a photo posted earlier this month.
Trump has at times resisted cutting out unhealthy foods. At the NBA Finals earlier this month, he munched on pizza and french fries and drank Diet Coke. He loves a well-done steak with ketchup. Trump's campaign plane frequently stocked McDonald's cheeseburgers and Chick-fil-A sandwiches.
O'Mara first started advising politicians and cabinet members during the second Bush administration, as one of the physicians assigned to assist the White House. Now in private practice, he specializes in full-body MRIs, which look for fat that can be a risk factor for Type 2 diabetes, heart disease and metabolic syndrome.
For snacking, O'Mara recommends "old world cheese." That includes blue cheese, Gorgonzola or Parmesan on a wheel, which Lutnick eats plain, without a cracker.
Lutnick first spoke about the diet with Kennedy when the two traveled to Colorado. Lutnick had stayed away from red meat for years, worried about cancer. Lutnick also gave up Diet Coke, and has switched to plain iced coffee.
Vance has stayed committed to the diet, often eating eggs, sauerkraut, pickles, blackberries and raspberries for lunch, and beef or lamb with sauerkraut for dinner. On Air Force Two, he snacks on grass-fed beef jerky, or eats a hamburger with cheese, no bun, and a side of fermented vegetables.
The administration officials who adhere to the diet all have different ways of getting in enough fermented foods. Kennedy often travels with a stash of sauerkraut. Lutnick has started to make fermented vegetables at home in lieu of eating store-bought sauerkraut.
Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a Republican, recalled bumping into Duffy last year and remarking that his skin was glowing. Duffy recommended that he see O'Mara -- and now McCarthy is a convert.
"He told me I was the worst case he'd ever seen but he's so positive, he said: 'You've got great potential,'" McCarthy recalled of his first meeting with O'Mara. McCarthy said he has lost 4 inches around his waist. He's talked up the diet to members of Congress.
"Optimization plans" at O'Mara's practice start at $8,000, according to his website. A direct consultation with O'Mara will cost you $18,000. He offers to accompany clients to the grocery store to teach them about picking out fermented foods in the back of the refrigerator section, where there is less light that could degrade the nutrients and the living microbes.
O'Mara, getting emotional in an interview, said it's his life calling, noting that people say feeling healthy helps them communicate better and have more energy for a stressful job. "Nothing will improve somebody's appearance more and their performance," he said.
New dietary guidelines rolled out last year by Kennedy and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins for the first time recommended consuming fermented foods such as sauerkraut.
Cheryl Hines, Kennedy's wife, said last year that Kennedy wakes up at 6:30 every morning to cook steak and eat sauerkraut.
"We'll be in the car, dressed up. I'll have my little clutch, right? One of my good bags that I only take out every once in a while, because I want to keep them nice," Hines recalled in an interview on Katie Miller's podcast. "And he'll hand me a bag of sauerkraut and say, 'Can you put this in your bag?' And I'll say, 'I actually cannot.'"” [1]
1. Everyone in Trump's Cabinet Is Eating Sauerkraut --- JD Vance, RFK Jr. and other officials swear by diet of grass-fed meat and fermented foods. Andrews, Natalie; Whyte, Liz Essley. Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 20 June 2026: A1.
