HEALTH CARE WARS:
JANUARY 2026 DASHBOARD
THE IDEOLOGICAL THEATER
HHS Influencers' focus on "Big Food" and "Big Pharma" (X data)
Notable new X followings
FDA Commissioner Marty Makary
- Kristy Hawley:
"Trauma Surgeon & Robotics Education Director" at the University of Colorado - Kris Newby:
Author of Bitten: The Secret History of Lyme Disease and Biological Weapons - Dr. Mary Talley Bowden:
Prominent vaccine critic; founder of Americans for Health Freedom (also followed by Director Bhattacharya)
NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya
- Do No Harm:
"Association of medical professionals combating the attack on our health care system from woke activists" - Jim Pethokoukis:
Futurist and American Enterprise Institute senior fellow; recently authored articles on AI, genetics, and biohacking funding
Deputy HHS Secretary Jim O'Neill
- Dr. Joseph Marine:
Johns Hopkins cardiologist; praised MAHA report as chance to prioritize "cardiometabolic health"
HHS Senior Advisor Calley Means
- Dan Go:
Health transformation coach "helping entrepreneurs get lean and live longer" - Zach Lahn:
Farmer and MAHA Action-endorsed Iowa governor candidate running on anti-"Big Ag and Big Pharma" platform
New Trump Administration hires and nominees
| Hire | Background | Pharma Perspectives | Food Perspectives |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tracy Beth Høeg, Acting Director of the Center for Drug and Evaluation Research (CDER), FDA | Physician and prominent critic of government responses to COVID-19 who previously served as the Senior Advisor for Clinical Sciences to Commissioner Makary[1] | Published a November 2023 list of “FDA’s shortcomings” that critiqued FDA’s dependence on industry user fees, “revolving door” hiring, and “lack of transparency” while also asserting that the “media in the [United States] is beholden to the pharmaceutical industry”[2] | N/A |
| Martin Kulldorff, Chief Science Officer for the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE), HHS | Biostatistician, epidemiologist, and former Harvard Medical School professor who previously chaired CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP)[3] | Argued that “after the unscientific COVID-19 vaccine mandates, the only way to restore vaccine confidence is to let [Secretary Kennedy] do his proposed evidence-based vaccine studies"[4] | Stated that MAHA’s “key strength” is “its evidence-based multi-focus on the immune system, environment, mental health, nutrition, and exercise”[5] |
Health care op-eds published in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post
THE COMMERCIAL THEATER
Top health care ad spenders on Meta Platforms
Corporate sponsors of health care conferences and "fly-ins"
National Comprehensive Cancer Network 2025 Patient Advocacy Summit (December 9)[6]
AbbVie, ADC Therapeutics, AstraZeneca, BeiGene, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol Myers Squibb, Cencora, Eisai, EMD Serono, Exact Sciences, Exelixis, Foundation Medicine, Genentech, Genmab, Gilead Sciences, GSK, Incyte, Johnson & Johnson, Lantheus, Lilly, Merck, Novartis, Pfizer, Regeneron, Sanofi, Servier, Sun Pharma, Taiho Oncology, and Takeda
American Society of Hematology 2025 Annual Meeting (December 12–15)[7]
AbbVie, AstraZeneca, GSK, Incyte Corporation, Lilly, Merck, and Novartis
Newsletter sponsors
Axios (Vitals)
Politico – Health Care
(Pulse and Prescription Pulse)
Politico – Food/Ag
(Weekly Agriculture)
STAT News
(D.C. Diagnosis and
Morning Rounds)
- “Tracy Beth Høeg M.D., Ph.D.,” U.S. Food and Drug Administration, https://www.fda.gov/about-fda/fda-organization/tracy-hoeg.
- Tracy Beth Høeg, MD, PHD, “FDA’s shortcomings: A list,” Better than Fiction, Substack, November 15, 2023, https://tracybethhoegmdphd.substack.com/p/fdas-shortcomings-a-list.
- Press release, “Renowned Epidemiologist and Biostatistician Martin Kulldorff Appointed to Senior HHS Role,” U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, December 1, 2025, https://www.hhs.gov/press-room/renowned-epidemiologist-and-biostatistician-martin-kulldorff-appointed-to-senior-hhs-role.html.
- Martin Kulldorff [@MartinKulldorrff], “After the unscientific COVID vaccine mandates…,” X, January 27, 2025, https://x.com/MartinKulldorff/status/1883919904614895767.
- Martin Kulldorff [@MartinKulldorff], “The key strength of MAHA is…,” X, May 21, 2025, https://x.com/MartinKulldorff/status/1925240184372679014.
- "Patient Advocacy Summit," National Comprehensive Cancer Network, https://web.cvent.com/event/1b9b234d-5d36-483e-8696-762c0a63f9f1/summary.
- "ASH Annual Meeting and Exposition," American Society of Hematology, https://www.hematology.org/meetings/annual-meeting#about.
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