Dems Spearhead This ‘MAHA’ Priority

American politics is deeply tribal: rightly or wrongly, Republicans and Democrats are increasingly at each other’s throats.

For that reason, it’s no surprise that the mantra “Make America Healthy Again” resonates with Trump supporters while leaving many Democrats cold. MAHA sounds a lot like MAGA—Make America Great Again—and MAGA is, for Democrats, enemy rhetoric.

But when it comes to at least one MAHA priority—eliminating advertisements for drugs—Democrats in Congress are forcing the issue in a way Republicans are not.

Yet, Supreme Court precedent suggests that a victory could prove fleeting. The Supreme Court has consistently found that Big Pharma has broad First Amendment rights to market its products.

That may be why a bipartisan group of lawmakers is pursuing a different solution to pharmaceutical advertisements—one in line with an avenue Kennedy has said he might explore.

Sens. Angus King (I-Maine) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), independents who caucus with the Democrats, introduced the End Prescription Drug Ads Now Act in June. It has five Democratic cosponsors.

Democrats in the House introduced their own version of the bill in July, after The Epoch Times mentioned it to Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.).

The Supreme Court has repeatedly found that laws limiting pharmaceutical companies’ marketing and advertising impinge on their First Amendment rights.

Despite that record, Omar sounded enthusiastic about the proposal.

“I think we should give it a shot,” she told The Epoch Times.

Omar cosponsored that bill alongside Reps. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) and medical doctor Maxine Dexter (D-Ore.).

On the other side of the aisle, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) told The Epoch Times that the King and Sanders bill “sounds very complementary to me.”

He and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) are targeting pharmaceutical advertising as well, though in a slightly different way.

Their No Handouts for Drug Advertisements Act would prevent drug companies from deducting expenses associated with ads.

That’s similar to an approach Kennedy suggested earlier this year. It’s also in line with a proposal from Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign. 

When Shaheen introduced a similar proposal in 2021, it was co-sponsored by King, Sanders, and many other Senate Democrats. It died in the Finance Committee of that closely divided Senate, which was controlled by the Democrats via then-Vice President Kamala Harris’s tiebreaking vote.

Rep. Greg Murphy (R-N.C.), a medical doctor, introduced a House version of Hawley and Shaheen’s bill in April. Like Hawley and Shaheen’s bill, as well as Shaheen’s 2021 bill, it was referred to the chamber’s finance committee.

Like its Senate equivalent, it was a bipartisan exercise. Reps. Nick Begich (R-Alaska), Hillary Scholten (D-Mich.), and Angie Craig (D-Minn.) cosponsored the legislation with him.

“Patients should trust their doctor for medical guidance, not 30-second TV ads,” Murphy said at the time.

—Nathan Worcester

BOOKMARKS

Senators from both sides of the aisle came together on Monday to ask Google and Apple to remove China-owned virtual private networks (VPNs) from their app stores. The VPNs are meant to be an extra layer of internet security, but the lawmakers worry they are giving China access to American users’ data.  

Donald Trump announced on Monday that he will shorten Russia’s timeframe for reaching a ceasefire deal in its war with Ukraine. The original window was 50 days—beginning on July 14—but has been shortened to “about 10 or 12 days,” after which countries that trade with Russia will face 100 percent tariffs.   

South Carolina Republican Rep. Ralph Norman is planning to run for governor of his state in 2026. Norman will have to overcome Attorney General Alan Wilson and Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, who have also launched campaigns.  

U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani has blocked the provision in Trump’s megabill that defunds Planned Parenthood. “Patients are likely to suffer adverse health consequences where care is disrupted or unavailable,” she wrote in her ruling on Monday.

The United States and the European Union have reached a landmark trade agreement, just days before Trump’s tariffs were set to kick in. Find out the details in Andrew Moran’s latest report. 

—Stacy Robinson