This week on the show, the Supreme Court has punted mifepristone access back to the notoriously hostile Fifth Circuit — a short-term win for advocates, but a longer-term gift to Republicans hoping to dodge the issue before the midterms. We break down what the ruling actually means and where Alito and Thomas signaled they want the case to go.
Then we get into the chaotic state of public health leadership: the Trump administration tapped a penile implant specialist with a YouTube show called Erection Connection to front its hantavirus press conference. The surgeon general position remains vacant — until now, sort of, filled temporarily by a congressman’s wife. Plus: RFK Jr. is reclassifying hundreds of senior HHS career staff to strip their civil service protections, fired the leadership of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force without explanation, and his MAHA allies are celebrating after Sen. Bill Cassidy lost his Louisiana primary.
We also look at stock trades suggesting Trump may have profited from insider knowledge on Eli Lilly’s GLP-1 drugs, the administration’s push to make European countries pay more for pharmaceuticals so Americans pay less, a quiet reversal on ACIP’s new charter, and TrumpRx’s new partnership with Mark Cuban’s Cost Plus Drugs.
Plus, our interview with State Rep. Donovan McKinney, where he discusses Michiganders for Money Out of Politics, also known as Mop Up Michigan. It’s a ballot initiative to curb corporate influence in politics and address economic disparities. Representing the state’s lowest-income district, McKinney argues that corporate monopoly money stifles legislative action on crucial issues like rising healthcare costs and affordability.
Background Reading:
The Hill: Supreme Court preserves abortion pill access over Alito, Thomas dissents
ABORTION, EVERY DAY: Republicans Aren’t Done With Mifepristone
CNN: Penile implant specialist with history of far-right comments led hantavirus presser
KFF Health News: Trump Bought Stock in Drugmaker as His Government Boosted Its Obesity Drugs
The Hill: GOP House rep’s wife to perform duties of U.S. surgeon general
STAT: Kennedy names interim surgeon general amid vacancies atop health department
Bloomberg (via MSN): RFK Jr. taps Haridopolos as temporary surgeon general
POLITICO: RFK Jr.’s department to make it easier to fire career staff
POLITICO: RFK Jr. fires leaders of group that determines what insurers must cover
STAT: Top U.S. officials pressured Germany to pay more for prescription drugs
Rep. Donavan McKinney’s House Dems webpage is HERE
Planet Detroit: As Michigan insurance costs rise, ballot drive highlights Blue Cross lobbying
The Michiganders for Money Out of Politics (Mop Up Michigan) website is HERE
Join the fight at committeetoprotect.org.
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