Alcohol is poised to take center stage in debates over public health this year as advocates on both sides of the issue vie for influence over crucial dietary recommendations that will set the course of federal nutrition standards for the rest of the decade.

A complex nutrition policy document, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, could quickly become a point of contention for the incoming Trump administration, as Republicans in Congress representing booze-making districts grapple with the confirmation process for Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the longtime Democrat-turned-Republican health spokesman who has sworn off drugs and alcohol for 42 years.