Media roundtable: MAHA meets the midterms with Liz Essley Whyte, Chelsea Cirruzzo, and Marcia Brown

This week, we have a great media roundtable with Marcia Brown, who covers food and agriculture at Politico; Chelsea Cirruzzo, Washington correspondent at STAT; and Liz Essley Whyte, health policy reporter at the Wall Street Journal. All three have broken big MAHA-related stories this year, and heading into the midterms, they’re watching whether this movement still has the political clout it had in 2024.We talk about how each of these reporters ended up covering MAHA, how their outlets approach covering the movement and the Trump administration, and so much more.Highlights: – Why HHS moved $12 million out of the Office of Minority Health as Secretary Kennedy's security costs climbed from $10 million to $17 million – Zach Lahn, the anti-Big Ag Republican running for Iowa governor, and his relationship with Kennedy – Whether MAHA can deliver votes in the midterms after falling short on parts of its national agenda – USDA winding down its cyclospora research during one of the largest outbreaks in recent history, and why "boring" ag research matters – What FDA nominee Heidi Overton, new HHS leadership, and Trump's renewed vaccine push mean – Where MAHA finds a political home next, as some Democrats start courting it – New "real food" stocking standards for SNAP retailers, and what they could mean for where people can use their SNAP benefitsWhere to find Marcia Brown:PoliticoSubstackXBlueskyWhere to find Chelsea Cirruzzo:STATXLinkedInWhere to find Liz Essley Whyte:XBlueskyLinkedInMentioned in this episode:RFK Jr.'s Enhanced Security Was Funded With Money From Minority Health Office (Wall Street Journal)RFK Jr. sees mutual political benefit in MAHA boosting MAGA (STAT)USDA cyclospora research projects shelved amid funding cuts and relocations (Politico)Heidi Overton's FDA confirmation hearing (STAT)Stay in touch:Sign up for Helena’s must-read weekly newsletter: Food Fix.Follow American Dish on Instagram and YouTube.Send ideas and feedback to info@foodfix.coCheck out Forked, the food politics podcast Helena co-hosts with the Food & Environment Reporting Network.Credits: This episode was edited by Adrienne Cruz. Original music by David Bottemiller.