By Suzanne Burdick, Ph.D.

The “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) slogan, born when Robert F. Kennedy Jr. endorsed Donald Trump for president, is now incorporated into the official name of four groups and one federal government initiative: MAHA Holdings, MAHA Action, the MAHA Institute, MAHA PAC and the MAHA Commission, headed by Kennedy.

Here’s a quick primer on each MAHA group — mission, goals and who’s in charge.

MAHA Holdings: ‘We can unleash the power of capitalism on the chronic disease epidemic’

MAHA Holdings is the newest MAHA group on the scene. CEO Alex Hardy was a key organizer of the recent MAHA Summit, where he introduced Kennedy and Vice President JD Vance on stage.

The MAHA Summit brought together U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) officials, scientists, entrepreneurs, corporate leaders and health activists who discussed how to advance the MAHA Commission agenda.

Hardy, a former investment banker and co-founder of a tech company he sold to Docusign, told the audience he healed himself from a “seven-year bout with chronic disease” by quitting his job at Docusign, cutting out processed food and alcohol, and spending months in the sun walking barefoot in Costa Rica.

The experience radicalized him, he said. “I shouldn’t have had to leave America to get healthy.” He decided to pour his “life force into making America healthy again.”

Hardy didn’t define MAHA Holdings, describe its organizational structure or explain how it would support the MAHA movement.

Finn Kennedy, one of Kennedy’s sons and a MAHA Holdings board member, spoke at the MAHA Summit. “I hope you leave today with the confidence that we can unleash the power of capitalism on the chronic disease epidemic and restore prosperity to our nation.”

Besides Hardy and Finn Kennedy, the leaders of MAHA Holdings are not widely known.

As of press time, MAHA Holdings does not have a searchable website or a publicly available mission statement.

Given the group’s name, some are speculating that MAHA Holdings owns the MAHA trademark. As of press time, no public announcements have been made on the topic.

In December 2024, attorney Stephen Baird filed paperwork to register the “MAHA” trademark.

In January, The Washington Post reported that Kennedy had transferred ownership of the MAHA trademark application to an LLC managed by Del Bigtree, founder of the Informed Action Consent Network and director of communications for Kennedy’s presidential campaign.

Baird’s law firm did not immediately respond when The Defender asked who currently owns or manages the trademark.

HHS did not immediately respond when The Defender asked what HHS and Kennedy’s relationship is to MAHA Holdings.

MAHA PAC and other groups emerge after Kennedy’s presidential campaign

Three other MAHA groups — MAHA PAC, MAHA Action and the MAHA Institute — either originated or are currently under the leadership of Tony Lyons and/or Mark Gorton, according to Michael Kane, director of advocacy for Children’s Health Defense (CHD).

Lyons is the president and founder of Skyhorse Publishing. Gorton is a Wall Street executive who founded Tower Research Capital and created LimeWire, a secure platform for uploading files. Lyons and Gorton are also CHD board members.

During Kennedy’s presidential campaign, Lyons and Gorton co-founded American Values 2024, a super PAC (political action committee), to raise money for the campaign.

Long after Kennedy joined forces with Trump, the super PAC was renamed the MAHA PAC, when the “MAHA zeitgeist” took over, Kane told The Defender.

According to its website, the MAHA PAC is “leading the charge to transform America’s approach to public health, environmental sustainability, and government accountability.”

Once an election cycle ends, there’s not much a PAC can do, so the group isn’t very active, Kane said. “I think when the midterm election cycle gears up, you’re going to see MAHA PAC gear up again, but we’re not quite there yet.”

MAHA Action initially co-founded by RFK Jr.

Lyons now leads MAHA Action, a nonpartisan nonprofit organization “dedicated to advocacy and activism to advance the Make America Healthy Again movement.” The group co-hosted the MAHA Summit, according to The Associated Press.

Bigtree and Kennedy initially co-founded MAHA Action in December 2024.

MAHA Action was the main sponsor of CHD’s sold-out conference this month in Austin, Texas. Lyons spoke during the conference dinner event headlined by actress Cheryl Hines — who is married to Kennedy — and comedian and political commentator Russell Brand.

Kane said MAHA Action focuses on legislation related to the MAHA movement. “They’re really talking about bills they support or don’t support on the federal level, on the state level, and how to build support for that, how to oppose bad bills,” Kane explained.

MAHA Institute focuses on ‘policy and data’

Lyons also formerly served as co-president with Gorton of the MAHA Institute, another MAHA-themed nonprofit that launched in Washington, D.C., in May.

Gorton spoke at CHD’s conference on the epidemic of “vaccine poisoning.” He said, “All vaccines need to be removed from the market until they can be proven both safe and effective.”

According to its website, the MAHA Institute is focused on “reforming the political, regulatory, and legislative environment to end corporate capture of government and restore its focus on the health of the American people.” The institute states that it offers “academic, strategic, and policy leadership.”

Kane said the group largely focuses on “policy and data.”

The MAHA Institute supports state-based MAHA efforts, provides expert support to federal and state officials and legislators, connects HHS staff with experienced personnel, provides resources to back up new policies, amplifies MAHA’s successes, and raises funds to support the MAHA movement.

Currently, MAHA Action and the MAHA Institute display the trademark symbol on their websites, but not MAHA PAC.

MAHA Commission directs federal agencies to make changes for kids’ health

Finally, there’s the MAHA Commission — a federal initiative headed by Kennedy that aims to guide the government in tackling the chronic disease epidemic.

On Feb. 13, Trump signed an executive order that established the commission, which includes the heads of the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Education, among others.

Trump asked the commission to write two reports — an “initial assessment” of what might be driving the childhood chronic disease epidemic, which the commission released in May, and a “Make Our Children Healthy Again Report,” released in September.

The commission’s strategy report detailed over 100 recommendations for how federal agencies and programs can address the chronic disease epidemic.

According to the strategy report, poor diet, chemical exposure, chronic stress/lack of physical activity and overmedicalization are driving the childhood chronic disease epidemic.

The report laid out a strategy for how the federal government can address these problems, including restoring science and research, launching public awareness campaigns and fostering private sector collaboration, according to an HHS press release.

It is unclear how and when the federal government will publicize its progress in implementing the changes outlined in the MAHA Commission’s report.

According to his executive order, Trump could ask the commission for more reports. But now that the group is done writing the strategy report, it won’t convene again unless it submits an “updated mission” to the White House.

MAHA Action, the MAHA Institute and MAHA PAC did not respond to our comment request by the deadline.

Related articles in The Defender

• ‘The People Have Had Enough’: Children’s Health Defense Sold-Out Conference Signals Growing Power of Health Freedom Movement
• MAHA Commission Outlines Sweeping Agenda to Target Chronic Disease
• RFK Jr.: MAHA Report a ‘Clarion Call’ to End the Chronic Disease Epidemic
• ‘We Will Do That Right Away’: RFK Jr. Promises Better Vaccine Injury Tracking, as White House Launches MAHA Commission

The post MAHA: A Who’s Who of Groups That Bear the ‘Make America Healthy Again’ Slogan in Their Names appeared first on Children’s Health Defense.

 

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