The MAHA sphere of influence

Politico

23-05-2025

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Driving The Day
FIRST IN PULSE: THE MAHA DIVIDE — The top outside-of-government influencers of the Make America Healthy Again movement, which focuses on combating chronic disease, are largely split between tackling Big Pharma or Big Food, a new analysis from consulting firm Baron Public Affairs found.
Of the 15 external influencers with the strongest links to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his MAHA initiative, six are most concerned about constraining the power of drugmakers, four are focused on reining in the food and agriculture industries and the remaining five represent a middle ground between the two competing interests, according to the analysis.
'We forecast continued tension between these two objectives,' said Jeremy Furchtgott, a director at Baron. 'Now, both objectives could be pursued simultaneously, theoretically, but realistically, there's just only so much attention any organization needs to prioritize.'
The firm identified the top 15 influencers by collecting nearly 2,900 citations across social media platform X, LinkedIn, podcasts and other sources from people closely connected to Kennedy between Sept. 1, 2024, and Jan. 31, 2025.
The top five who have Kennedy's ear are former Fox News host Tucker Carlson; conservative activist Charlie Kirk; TrueMed co-founder Calley Means — now a special government employee at HHS — and the X accounts named 'End Tribalism in Politics' and 'Chief Nerd,' which aggregates news and clips podcasts. Also on the list are actor Russell Brand, podcast host Joe Rogan and the activist known as 'The Food Babe,' Vani Hari.
Why it matters: The new findings come on the heels of the MAHA Commission's much-anticipated report on the child chronic disease crisis, which was expected to shed light on the policy solutions and industries Kennedy might target as he implements the MAHA agenda. But the report largely shied away from the strident language Kennedy has used in the past in demonizing the food, farming and pharmaceutical industries and leaves for another day proposals for improving kids' health.
The analysis also comes just a few weeks after President Donald Trump's new pick for surgeon general — wellness influencer Casey Means, the sister of Calley Means — made public a rift in the MAHA world. Kennedy's former presidential running mate, philanthropist Nicole Shanahan, said Kennedy had promised her he wouldn't bring the siblings to HHS. And the nomination ignited a feud between Laura Loomer, a conservative influencer close to Trump who criticized Casey Means for not having an active medical license, and Calley Means, putting on display the competing interests within Kennedy's MAHA movement.
Key context: The Baron's analysis found the influencers in Kennedy's orbit represent a wide range of vaccine stances. Kennedy, a longtime vaccine skeptic, has delivered conflicting messaging about the safety and efficacy of vaccines during his time as secretary.
Within the top 15 influencers, there's a divide between narrow criticism of mandated Covid vaccines and broad skepticism of vaccines, but none have expressed the same level of opposition to vaccines as the Children's Health Defense, the anti-vaccine advocacy group Kennedy previously chaired.
'There's a group of organizations and people who were really concerned about vaccines, and they were early supporters, early allies, of RFK Jr., and we view that group as actually not having as much influence in the administration as they hoped for,' said Furchtgott.
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At the Agencies
RFK JR. PUNTS ON AUTISM PROMISE — HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. walked back his pledge to find the root cause of autism by September and punted his deadline by six months.
In an interview aired Thursday night with CNN's Kaitlan Collins, Kennedy said HHS will have 'some studies' done by September, which will mainly be replications of studies that have already been done, 'because the only way you can get good science is through replication.'
'We'll have some of the information,' he said. 'To get the most solid information, it will probably take us another six months.'
Background: Kennedy pledged in April, during a White House Cabinet meeting, to launch a 'massive testing and research effort' to find the root cause of autism by September. He said the effort would involve 'hundreds of scientists from around the world' to study rising autism rates in the U.S.
A longtime vaccine critic, Kennedy has previously pushed the debunked theory that vaccines are tied to autism.
What's next: Kennedy said HHS is deploying 15 groups of scientists to research autism's root cause and that the grants for those teams would be sent out to bid within three weeks.
IN THE STATES
TEXAS TAKES THE REINS ON PSYCHEDELICS — Texas is moving forward with plans to fund a grant program to study psychedelics for use as mental health treatments, POLITICO's Erin Schumaker reports.
The state has approved $50 million in funding for clinical trials of ibogaine, a psychedelic drug derived from an African shrub. The move follows the Texas Legislature's passage of a bipartisan bill earlier this month to fund a grant program through Texas' Health and Human Services Commission aimed at gaining FDA approval for the psychedelic as a drug therapy.
The $50 million will fund a partnership with an-as-yet-to-be-named drug developer, which will run the trials. Texas will retain a financial stake in any drug successfully developed, with trials likely taking place at a Texas university or hospital system.
One of the Republican co-authors of the bill, state Sen. Tan Parker, has said he sees veterans with opioid dependence, post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injuries as key beneficiaries of the research bill.
'The opioid crisis has left too many families shattered and too many Veterans without answers,' said his co-author, Republican state Rep. Cody Harris, in a statement.
Why it matters: The first-in-the-nation initiative positions Texas as a hub for ibogaine research and creates a blueprint for other states that may want to replicate Texas' approach.
While the FDA last year rejected drugmaker Lykos Therapeutics' plan to offer a different psychedelic drug, MDMA, alongside therapy as a treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder, advocates are cautiously optimistic about their prospects for advancing psychedelic therapy under the Trump administration.
Abortion
A CATCH-22 — A last-minute change to the GOP's megabill leaves many health insurers in an untenable position, setting up a clash with a dozen states over access to abortion coverage.
The bill, which the House narrowly passed early Thursday morning, penalizes insurers that cover abortions even as a dozen states require them to do so. The overall effect, if it survives potential legal challenges, would be to decrease access to the procedure nationwide, a longtime goal of many Republicans, even as President Donald Trump has repeatedly said he'd like to leave the issue to the states.
'One good bet if this provision passes is litigation by states that require insurers to provide abortion coverage,' said Larry Levitt, executive vice president of KFF.
Insurance companies and their trade groups have slammed the Republican legislation, which the Congressional Budget Office estimates will result in millions losing their health insurance.
'Coverage losses of this magnitude would be unprecedented for our country,' AHIP said in a press release. 'We all want a healthier America. Deep reductions in health care coverage would be a big step in the wrong direction away from that goal.'
But the latest wrinkle, added Wednesday night, attempts to incentivize insurers to stop covering abortion.
The megabill, which still needs to pass the Senate, offers to pay insurers federal money but only if they don't cover abortion.
In Congress
MAKARY'S CLASH WITH CONGRESS — FDA Commissioner Marty Makary didn't get a warm welcome from Senate appropriators when he headed to Capitol Hill on Thursday to testify on the agency's budget request, POLITICO's David Lim reports.
Instead, Democrats and Republicans on the Appropriations subcommittee that oversees the agency pressed Makary on the impact of the Trump administration's staff cuts — including full committee Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine). Democrats lamented that the committee has still not received the Trump administration's full budget request.
'Recent staffing changes at the FDA appear to have affected the balance between innovation and regulatory review from what I'm hearing,' Collins said. 'I'm particularly concerned about the downstream impact of delays on patients suffering from debilitating rare diseases.'
Makary pushed back against Collins and Democrats who said the Trump administration cuts would endanger the FDA's operations.
'The trains are running on time at the FDA. There have been no staffing changes that have changed any approval schedules,' Makary said. He added that the agency was on track to meet all the prescription drug user fee targets Congress has set for it.
Budget ask: Democrats also slammed Makary for coming without a full budget request.
'We're sitting here today talking about a budget that this committee has not received,' subcommittee ranking member Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) said, noting that the FDA wasn't mentioned in an abbreviated budget summary the Trump administration has released.
Makary told lawmakers the Trump administration is proposing a $6.8 billion FDA budget for fiscal 2026, composed of $3.2 billion in taxpayer funds and $3.6 billion in user fee program revenues paid by drug and device makers, which would amount to a cut in FDA funding from fiscal 2025 levels.
WHAT WE'RE READING
The Associated Press' Carla K. Johnson reports on a new study that found weight-loss drugs might lower cancer risk in people with diabetes.
POLITICO's Doug Palmer reports on the Trump administration warning drug companies they could face legal action if they don't accurately report the value of the prescription drugs they import or export.