Secretary Kennedy’s Eight Major Health Policy Wins

Stefanie Spear, Principal Deputy Chief of Staff and Senior Counselor to Secretary Kennedy, joined MAHA Action’s Media Hub to review ‘some of the most sweeping public health reforms in modern history'

By Staff, The MAHA Report

It’s easy to forget how far the MAHA movement has come and what has been accomplished that would never have been accomplished under another administration, with different leadership at the helm of the public health agencies.

During a MAHA Action Media Hub call on Wednesday, April 22, Stefanie Spear, HHS Secretary Kennedy’s Principal Deputy Chief of Staff and Senior Counselor, reviewed some of the secretary’s biggest achievements since his confirmation last February. Many of these were discussed during Kennedy’s hearings before House and Senate committees over the last two weeks.

Spear mentioned eight major accomplishments, as follows:

The first: the dramatic reduction in drug prices through the Trump RX program, a website that allows Americans to buy prescription drugs directly from manufacturers, at dramatically reduced prices. The website has discounted drugs from a number of companies including Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk and Pfizer, and aims to guarantee America “Most Favored Nation” status for drug prices, to combat the much higher prices that American consumers have been charged for popular medications when compared to consumers in other countries.

The second: the food pyramid flipped upside down, with one simple message: Eat Real Food. On January 7, Secretary Kennedy and Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins unveiled the new dietary guidelines for Americans that placed meat at the top of the food pyramid along with vegetables, dairy and healthy fats. These are the foods Americans should eat most, with grains at the bottom, at the point of the inverted pyramid, representing the foods Americans should eat least. The prior food pyramid, long considered outdated, had recommended red meat as the food Americans should eat least, with most of their diet consisting of grains.

The third win Spear listed: the FDA convincing the food industry to commit to removing petroleum-based dyes from food. This initiative was announced in April of 2025, with the goal of removing six dyes from the food supply by the end of 2027: FD&C Green No. 3, FD&C Red No. 40, FD&C Yellow No. 5, FD&C Yellow No. 6, FD&C Blue No. 1, and FD&C Blue No. 2. The FDA is also taking action to remove color additive regulations that allow for the use of Orange B and Citrus Red No. 2. In January of 2025, the FDA revoked the authorization for FD&C Red No. 3 in food and in drugs, giving manufacturers until January of 2027 (for food) and January of 2028 (for drugs) to figure out how to make these products without using this dye. In April 2026, Pepsico announced it is removing all FD&C colors from three of its top drink flavors – fruit punch, lemon lime and orange – and will instead use fruit and vegetable juice to color their drinks.

The fourth win: the work to close the GRAS loophole. For decades, Kennedy told Senators in his testimony on Wednesday, the federal standard referred to as GRAS – for Generally Recognized as Safe – has allowed new ingredients and chemicals (with no safety data) to be introduced into our food supply with also no notification to the FDA or to the public. The FDA, Kennedy said, is now planning to initiate a post-market review of these unexamined food additives to determine which ones are safe to eat, and which aren’t. “The GRAS loophole has allowed food companies to decide for themselves whether a chemical is safe, without notifying the FDA,” said Kennedy. “That is a clear conflict of interest, and it undermines public trust.”

The fifth win Spear mentioned: the $50 billion contribution to the Rural Health Transformation Program, a fulfillment of the promise Kennedy made to Senators during his confirmation hearing last year to work to ensure access to health care in rural communities, where it’s often a struggle to keep the door of a small hospital open and to keep doctors in the county. The Rural Health Transformation Program was created by the January 2025 budget reconciliation bill, known as the One Big Beautiful Bill, which was signed into law by President Trump in July of 2025. The goal of the program is to provide funds to the states to ensure access to health care for people living in rural areas. It is administered by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

The sixth win: the agreement by more than 50 medical schools to add 40+ hours of nutrition education to the curriculum. “Medical students across this country have historically reported receiving one or two hours of nutrition education each year,” Kennedy said in testimony before a Senate committee on Wednesday. “We cannot in good conscience send physicians to treat diet-driven illnesses when they do not feel confident advising their patients on how to eat.” The voluntary program, to encourage medical schools to require 40 hours of nutrition education, was launched jointly with the U.S. Department of Education, and will begin this fall with all medical students at participating medical schools. These include medical schools at Florida State University, the University of Florida, Indiana University, the University of Miami, Tulane University, Tufts University, George Washington University, New York University and the University of Arizona. The full list can be found here:

The seventh win: the long-overdue action to remove 12 peptides from Category 2 designation, meant for substances that are considered high-risk and cannot generally be produced by compounding pharmacies. The 12 peptides will be discussed by the Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee at its July meeting. There independent experts will rigorously evaluate whether these 12 peptides should be legalized. Legalization would eliminate the black market (and gray market) for these products, where they have been sold for the last few years, since the Biden Administration moved them to Category 2. Peptides are chains of amino acids that are used as injectables for anti-aging, immune support and for other health benefits.

The eighth win Spear mentioned: an executive order (EO) signed by President Trump on April 18 to speed up the review of some psychedelic drugs like ibogaine and psilocybin for treating serious mental health issues, including trauma and depression suffered by combat veterans and others. Trump made the announcement at a press conference in the Oval Office with Kennedy, Joe Rogan, FDA Commissioner Marty Makary and others standing behind him. The EO also directs HHS to provide matching grants to states to research psychedelics to treat mental health issues.

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