MAHA's moment of truth

Politico

3 days ago

With help from Marcia Brown
QUICK FIX
— The Trump administration's much-anticipated 'Make America Healthy Again' policy recommendations — expected to have major implications for food and ag production — are due tomorrow.
— President Donald Trump teased a labor solution for farmers affected by mass deportations. It's likely not coming soon.
— USDA chief Brooke Rollins announced some top nominees and appointees to head up the department's rural services and external affairs.
HAPPY MONDAY, AUG. 11. Welcome to Morning Agriculture. I'm your host Grace Yarrow. Send tips and your favorite D.C.-area ice cream spots to [e-mail]. Don't forget to follow your favorite ag team at @Morning_Ag for more.
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Driving the day
MAHA'S TO-DO LIST: After months of lobbying and speculation, farm and food industry leaders are anxiously awaiting the release of the Trump administration's strategy to 'Make America Healthy Again.'
The MAHA Commission's strategy document is due Tuesday, and is expected to guide new policies, regulations and other solutions that will have wide-ranging impacts on the administration's overhaul of the food system.
The commission's initial assessment of key factors of chronic disease — especially in children — provoked some food and agriculture industry outrage by calling out commonly used food additives and herbicides as targets for governmental intervention.
What to expect: Following outcry from major food businesses and farm groups that are traditionally allies to Trump, the White House promised to stay away from a crackdown on pesticides and avoid surprising the food industry with new additive targets or regulations.
Industry insiders are expecting the report to focus on what Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has already publicly promised to do: secure more voluntary commitments from companies on the transition to natural food dyes, define 'ultra-processed foods,' update the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, reform the 'generally recognized as safe' designation and limit recipients of federal food aid from purchasing junk food with their benefits.
All of those goals will have significant implications for the food supply chain without a major clash with the Trump administration's broader effort to pare back excessive rules and regulations.
'The White House has certainly gotten the message, both from agriculture and the food sector, that they are on the edge of a nanny state,' one food industry lobbyist told your host. 'Like this is Michelle Obama on steroids. The message we've gotten from the White House is, 'Don't worry, we're not letting the crazy people run rampant over the food sector.''
On the farm side: White House officials pledged to stay away from a crackdown on pesticides after the initial MAHA report mentioned the use of herbicides glyphosate and atrazine.
Major agriculture groups that represent a range of agricultural interests, from traditional commodity growers to sustainable small-scale operations, have banded together in recent weeks to find common goals with MAHA leaders that won't require them to overhaul their inputs.
BACKLASH FROM MAHA-LAND: MAHA advocates have grown increasingly concerned that Kennedy, their emissary to the White House, is falling short — even as he prepares to release the road map for how to improve the nation's health outcomes.
'This MAHA report could turn the tide to tackle chronic [disease] in America and beyond,' said Zen Honeycutt, founder of Moms Across America, which advocates banning environmental toxins. 'It's crucial that our elected officials in this administration have the courage to stand up against the chemical corporations, which are trying to corrupt democracy.'
Don't miss the full story from our Marcia Brown and Lauren Gardner here.
Labor fight
DON'T HOLD YOUR BREATH: Trump keeps saying he'll solve the politically fraught problem of reconciling the need for undocumented farm labor with his mass deportation plan. But the White House does not appear close to a policy decision — and farmers are getting frustrated with the delays.
'My understanding is they still really haven't put pen to paper,' said a person close to the White House, granted anonymity to discuss private conversations.
Even as angst grows among the nation's farmers, no new policy is imminent, according to White House aides, farm lobbyists and people familiar with the discussions. Border czar Tom Homan also told reporters this week that no 'formal policy' had been agreed to.
'There is the possibility that Trump could just come out with an executive order … instructing the agencies to come up with some sort of a plan to help out the farmers, but there still seems to be a lot of discussion about how they're going to do it,' said the person close to the White House.
How we got here: Trump, last week on CNBC, attempted to strike a balance between the competing interests that have roiled this debate from the beginning, promising to deport criminals while saying he wants to 'work with' farmers to find solutions for undocumented immigrants who have lived in the U.S. and paid taxes for decades. He even made it sound as if the White House had finalized a touchback program for some laborers, requiring them to leave the U.S. and reenter through a legal pathway.
The Trump administration said no program has been finalized, but Trump's tease underscores the concern that any allowance for undocumented workers would cause political blowback, both from the base and from hard-liners inside the administration.
As you'll remember: The president's aides have spent weeks on defense, repeatedly vowing there will be 'no amnesty' for undocumented immigrants.
'I think they think the touchback is a way to avoid it being called amnesty … but there's still some pushback there, and on the DHS side of things, they tend to be more hard-line on this,' said the person close to the White House. 'My gut is that this was just Trump signaling, saying, 'No, we haven't forgotten about this. We're just still trying to figure out if we're going to do something, what it's going to look like.''
White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson did not provide an update on timing for a new policy but said, 'President Trump is a tireless advocate for American farmers.'
'He trusts farmers and is committed to ensuring they have the workforce needed to remain successful,' she said, adding that deporting 'dangerous criminals and targeting the sanctuary cities that provide them safe harbor is a top priority for the president.'
Transitions
NEWEST NOMS: Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced a group of nominees and appointees to head up some of the department's work on rural development.
The nominees were formally nominated in June, as loyal MA readers will recall. The White House nominated Glen Smith to be undersecretary for rural development, Stella Yvette Herrell to be assistant secretary of agriculture and Mindy Brashears to be undersecretary for food safety, as Rollins formally announced over the weekend.
Rollins also appointed five high-level officials to handle some of the department's rural services and external affairs.
Neal Robbins has been appointed deputy undersecretary for rural development at USDA. He's an attorney and currently the publisher of the North State Journal in North Carolina, and he previously worked in the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality.
Anthony Priest was appointed chief of staff for USDA's Rural Housing Service. Priest is currently the chief operating officer for Washington Education Zone, a Maryland community with apartments, offices and programs for students. He's also served in roles at other schools and education programs, including D.C. Public Schools, per his Linkedin page.
Michael Pape has been appointed chief of staff for USDA's Rural Utilities Service. Pape served as a longtime district director for former Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.), was the political director for Kentucky's Republican Party and unsuccessfully ran for Congress against Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) in 2016. He has been an associate at Capitol South, LLC — a lobbying firm that focuses on agriculture, environment and energy issues under president and CEO Marty Irby — for two years.
Anna Pilato will be chief of staff for USDA's Office of Partnerships and Public Engagement. She was previously director of federal public policy for the Christian Medical and Dental Associations. She is an HHS alum, serving in various roles during Trump's first term and during the George W. Bush administration.
Jason Allen was appointed senior adviser for the department's Office of Partnerships and Public Engagement. Allen, a current consultant who's worked with Rollins' think tank America First Policy Institute, was USDA's state director for rural development in Michigan. He was a Republican lawmaker in the state's legislature for more than a decade.
Row Crops
— The EPA on Friday canceled contracts with a host of unions, including the American Federation of Government Employees, the largest labor organization representing staffers from the agency, as Hannah Northey writes for POLITICO's E&E News.
— While visiting the Iowa State Fair, Rollins announced $152 million in grants for 19 rural development projects in the state.
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