Matthew Maxwell Taylor Kennedy Jr. (born September 18, 1993) is an American government volunteer, political organizer, and member of the

Kennedy family The Kennedy family () is an American political family that has long been prominent in American politics, public service, entertainment, and business. In 1884, 35 years after the family's arrival from County Wexford, Ireland, Patrick Joseph "P ...

. He is the

whistleblower Whistleblowing (also whistle-blowing or whistle blowing) is the activity of a person, often an employee, revealing information about activity within a private or public organization that is deemed illegal, immoral, illicit, unsafe, unethical or ...

who sent a complaint to the

United States House Committee on Oversight and Reform The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is the main investigative United States congressional committee, committee of the United States House of Representatives. The committee's broad jurisdiction and legislative authority make it one o ...

regarding the

White House Coronavirus Task Force The White House Coronavirus Task Force was the United States Department of State task force during the Trump administration. The goal of the Task Force was to coordinate and oversee the administration's efforts to monitor, prevent, contain, and ...

, which he worked on as a volunteer. Kennedy worked for the Democratic Party on their 2020 campaign efforts.

Biography

Kennedy was born on September 18, 1993, to Victoria Anne Strauss and

Max Kennedy Matthew Maxwell Taylor Kennedy (born January 11, 1965) is an American lawyer and author. He is the ninth child of Robert F. Kennedy and Ethel Skakel Kennedy. Early life and education Max Kennedy was born in New York City on January 11, 1965 ...

. He is a grandson of

Robert F. Kennedy Robert Francis Kennedy (November 20, 1925 – June 6, 1968), also known as RFK, was an American politician and lawyer. He served as the 64th United States attorney general from January 1961 to September 1964, and as a U.S. senator from New Yo ...

and

Ethel Kennedy Ethel Kennedy ( ; April 11, 1928 – October 10, 2024) was an American human rights advocate. She was the widow of U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, a sister-in-law of U.S. president John F. Kennedy, and a daughter of businessman Geor ...

. Kennedy grew up in

Hyannis Port, Massachusetts Hyannis Port (or Hyannisport) is a small residential village located in the town of Barnstable, Massachusetts, United States. It is a summer community on Hyannis Harbor, 1.4 miles (2.3 km) to the south-southwest of Hyannis. Community It ...

, near the

Kennedy Compound The Kennedy Compound consists of three houses on of waterfront property in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts on Cape Cod. It was once the home of Joseph P. Kennedy Sr., an American businessman, investor, and diplomat; his wife, Rose; and their nine ...

. As a teenager he volunteered with

Riverkeeper Riverkeeper is a non-profit environmental organization dedicated to the protection of the Hudson River and its tributaries, as well as the watersheds that provide New York City with its drinking water. It started out as the Hudson River Fisherman ...

. He graduated from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

in 2016. After graduating, he did part time work at consulting and investment firms and had planned to take the

LSAT The Law School Admission Test (LSAT ) is a standardized test administered by the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) for prospective law school candidates. It is designed to assess reading comprehension and logical reasoning. The test is ...

in March 2020 and apply to law schools, until the onset of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. A lifelong

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

, Kennedy felt torn about volunteering to work in the

Trump Administration Presidency of Donald Trump may refer to: * First presidency of Donald Trump, the United States presidential administration from 2017 to 2021 * Second presidency of Donald Trump, the United States presidential administration since 2025 See also * ...

, but decided the job "didn't seem political." He joined the

's Supply-Chain Task Force, led by President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

's son-in-law,

Jared Kushner Jared Corey Kushner (born January 10, 1981) is an American businessman and investor. He is a son-in-law of the president of the United States, Donald Trump, through his marriage to Ivanka Trump and served as a senior advisor in his father-in- ...

, that formed to provide protective equipment to places where outbreaks of the virus had occurred. On his first day as a task force volunteer, Kennedy arrived at the

Federal Emergency Management Agency The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), initially created under President Jimmy Carter by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1978 and implemented by two Exec ...

headquarters and joined a team of a dozen volunteers, all in their twenties. Kennedy, who took the position with the intention of being support staff for the task force, told ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

'' that he and the other volunteers were the official task force team for the U.S. Federal Government. He and other volunteers were responsible for obtaining medical supplies using their own personal computers and private email accounts. Kennedy was pressured by Brad Smith, an appointee directing the task force, to create a model with false information on the projected number of coronavirus fatalities in the United States. Kennedy declined to perform the assignment. Kennedy stated that the task force was instructed to prioritize requests from the President's supporters and friends, including

Jeanine Pirro Jeanine Ferris Pirro (born June 2, 1951) is an American television host and author who currently serves as the interim United States attorney for the District of Columbia since May 2025. Pirro is a former judge, prosecutor, and politician in t ...

. They were also instructed to direct millions of dollars' worth of medical supplies to five pre-selected distributors. In April 2020, despite having signed a nondisclosure agreement, he sent an anonymous complaint to the

detailing failures and "dangerous incompetence" in the

's response to the pandemic. Kennedy referred to the Trump Administration's coronavirus response as "family office meets organized crime, melded with ''

Lord of the Flies ''Lord of the Flies'' is the 1954 debut novel of British author William Golding. The plot concerns a group of prepubescent British boys who are stranded on an uninhabited island and their disastrous attempts to govern themselves that led to ...

''" and called it "a government of chaos." He quit the task force later that month and now works for the Democratic Party, and helped on the

Joe Biden 2020 presidential campaign On April 25, 2019, former vice president Joe Biden released a video announcing his candidacy in the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries. On November 3, 2020, Biden and his running mate, Kamala Harris, defeated incumbent Republican p ...

. Kennedy is featured in

Alex Gibney Philip Alexander Gibney (; born October 23, 1953) is an American documentary film director and producer. In 2010, ''Esquire'' magazine said Gibney "is becoming the most important documentarian of our time." Gibney's works as director include ''T ...

's 2020 documentary ''

Totally Under Control ''Totally Under Control'' is a 2020 American documentary film directed and produced by Alex Gibney, Ophelia Harutyunyan and Suzanne Hillinger, from a screenplay by Gibney. It follows the Trump administration's response to the COVID-19 pandemic in ...

''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kennedy, Max Living people 1993 births American people of Irish descent American whistleblowers Harvard College alumni

Max Max or MAX may refer to: Animals * Max (American dog) (1983–2013), at one time purported to be the world's oldest living dog * Max (British dog), the first pet dog to win the PDSA Order of Merit (animal equivalent of the OBE) * Max (gorilla) ...

Massachusetts Democrats People from Hyannis, Massachusetts