Overview
- Onstage, Vice President JD Vance praised Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for challenging established science, called MAHA a critical part of the administration’s success, and said he avoids taking medications unless necessary.
- Except for the broadcast fireside chat, the Waldorf Astoria gathering was closed to press and described as hush-hush, with attendees saying it offered rare access for private-sector leaders to top policymakers.
- Senior officials and industry figures mixed in the off-camera sessions, including FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya, Medicare and Medicaid overseer Mehmet Oz, and biotech leaders George Yancopoulos and Sam Kulkarni, with panels on psychedelics, food-as-medicine, and aging reversal.
- The White House has largely let Kennedy pursue sweeping agency changes, including layoffs, firing science advisers, and remaking vaccine guidance, while advancing priorities such as phasing out artificial food dyes and revisiting dietary guidelines.
- Leading medical associations warn that elevating heterodox claims from Kennedy’s perch risks eroding public trust in mainstream medicine.