MAHA Wins and MAGA Moves
🍎 MAHA bills progressing through TN · NES hires help to do damage control · Airport Authority backs the Music City Loop · Much more!
Good afternoon, everyone. MAHA bills advancing through the state legislature... NES hires lobbyists to do damage control... Airport Authority backs the Boring Co.'s Music City Loop... And much more!
Tonight: Things That Never Happen But Should Join us this evening for an event with Sean Davis, CEO and co-founder of The Federalist. This is the third installment of the Pamphleteer's new monthly event series. Paying Bard-level subscribers receive free access to this and future events. (Buy Tickets)
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TN lawmakers move forward with MAHA bills, while Trump protects glyphosate production.
From Megan Podsiedlik
Two weeks ago, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made a pit stop at the Tennessee State Capitol to kick off his “Take Back Your Health” tour. On Tuesday, the MAHA (Make America Healthy Again) Institute continued the momentum and sponsored a Day on the Hill at the Tennessee General Assembly.
Yesterday, Tennessee lawmakers made a few more MAHA moves by forwarding two bills related to health and nutrition. The Senate Health and Welfare Committee approved a bill supported by Governor Bill Lee that would require physicians to complete sufficient continuing education hours in nutrition each year.
A bill that would set up a timeline to remove petroleum-based artificial food dyes from meals provided by schools passed despite pushback from food providers.
“There is some apprehension out there by some of the companies that have talked to me, but most are already transitioning,” said Sponsor Rusty Crowe (R-Johnson City). “I know General Mills and PepsiCo and Kraft and… Doritos; they're already ready to go.”
MAHA and MAGA are largely simpatico when it comes to advocating for clean food ingredients and better nutrition, especially for children. Last year, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Food and Drug Administration announced a bold plan to phase out petroleum-based food dyes from the American food supply by 2027. That said, other health-based consumer protection initiatives are driving a wedge between MAHA and MAGA.
Earlier this session, a Tennessee bill that would broaden legal liability protection for pesticide and herbicide companies was delayed for the second time. Groups in favor of the GOP-sponsored legislation include the Tennessee Farm Bureau and the Modern Ag Alliance, which Bayer founded to protect, defend, and ensure continued farmer access to crop protection tools—specifically glyphosate—amidst mounting legal challenges. The groups claim the proposed bill will protect the state’s agricultural interests. Those against it include a growing and diverse cohort, including the broader MAHA movement, Stand For Health Freedom, TN Stands, and others.
Though the bill all but died in the Tennessee legislature, President Donald Trump has since pulled a trump card to protect glyphosate. In an executive order issued yesterday, the president invoked the Defense Production Act to ensure the domestic production of elemental phosphorus and glyphosate-based herbicides.
The order formally elevates both as matters of national defense:
“Elemental phosphorus is pervasive in defense supply chains and is therefore crucial to military readiness and national defense,” reads the document. “Lack of access to glyphosate-based herbicides would critically jeopardize agricultural productivity, adding pressure to the domestic food system, and may result in a transition of cropland to other uses due to low productivity."
✹ THINGS THAT NEVER HAPPEN BUT SHOULD
Welcome to America in 2026. You're sitting at the End of History. Nothing will ever happen again.
The steady march toward the impossible vision of a borderless world governed by rooms full of perfectly rational leaders incapable of committing evil in thought word or deed continues apace.
Will anything–can anything happen–that shakes us from our stupor? Is "Nothing Ever Happens" the law of the land? What should happen that hasn't happened?
Join us Thursday, February 19th as we sit down with Sean Davis, CEO and co-founder of The Federalist, to discuss whether anything will ever happen again and more. (Buy Ticket)
This event is for the benefit of The Pamphleteer and free for paying, Bard-level subscribers.
✹ METRO COUNCIL WATCH
Who bankrolls your councilmember? We analyzed every donation to every council member to show you whether they're funded by their constituents or someone else. Higher grades go to those who raise more money locally. (Take a Look)
HEADLINES
- 🗣 NES hires a fleet of lobbyist and communication consultants following the ice storm. In the wake of Fern, the power utility company is hoping to increase its political clout following a surge of criticism over its storm response. During last week’s Special Joint Council Committee meeting, Councilmember Courtney Johnston expressed concern over NES’ lack of transparency regarding the new contracts. (Axios)
- 📜 TN GOP advances seven immigration bills drafted with United States Homeland Security Advisor Stephen Miller. Bills beginning to advance through committee include measures requiring proof of immigration status to access public hospital care, college, welfare benefits, professional licenses, and car tags. (Tennessean)
- 🎵 Airport Authority green-lights Boring Co.’s Music City Loop in unanimous vote. The authority’s support brings the tunnel project connecting downtown to the airport one step closer to fruition. Airport authority CEO Doug Kreulen says the Music City Loop will help ease traffic. As proposed, the agreement includes an annual licensing fee and the airport license would last 40 years, with the option for two, five-year extensions. (NBJ)
- 🏈 VUMC now sponsors every major sports team in Nashville amid layoffs and transgender care controversies. Vanderbilt University Medical Center is set to become the official medical partner of the Titans in addition to their current partnerships with Nashville SC and the Nashville Predators. (TN Star)
DEVELOPMENT
- Tulum-inspired rooftop restaurant, bar opens in Gulch (NBJ)
- Permits issued for downtown mixed-use project (Post)
- Jefferson Street site eyed for mixed-use building (Post)
- Commercial property near Zanies listed for $4.3M (Post)
THINGS TO DO
View our calendar for the week here.
📅 Visit our On The Radar list to find upcoming events around Nashville.
🎧 On Spotify: Pamphleteer's Picks, a playlist of our favorite bands in town this week.
👨🏻🌾 Check out our Nashville farmer's market guide.
TONIGHT
📰 The Pamphleteer Presents: Things That Never Happen But Should w/ Sean Davis @ The Eighth Room, 6p, $50, Info
🪕 Kelsey Waldon w/ Gabe Lee @ The Basement East, 8p, $27.27, Info
🎸 Kelley’s Heroes @ Robert’s Western World, 6:30p, Free, Info
🎸 Open Mic @ Fox & Locke, 6:30p, Free, Info
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Today's newsletter is brought to you by Davis Hunt, Megan Podsiedlik, and Camelia Brennan.