FDA Head Marty Makary on Food Dyes, Ultra-Processed Foods and the MAHA Agenda
Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Martin Makary is getting lobbied by the MAHA movement to restrict food dyes and ultra-processed foods, as well as by the food, agriculture and pharmaceutical industries to reduce government oversight.
“We want to go bold and there are a lot of things to do,” Makary tells POLITICO’s Dasha Burns. “But we also want to find common ground and work incrementally.”
At the same time, he says, “The amount of pressure I feel from industry or other branches of government is zero.” Makary also discusses how the agency is addressing women’s health and access to mifepristone, what he calls a “child vaping epidemic,” and explains the rationale behind FDA staffing cuts as well as some controversial hires.
Plus, White House reporter Jake Traylor joins Burns to discuss the mood inside the White House amid the fallout over the Jeffrey Epstein story, why President Trump is “itching” to get back on the campaign trail ahead of the 2026 midterms and whether GOP candidates in swing districts will welcome him.
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Sen. Eric Schmitt on being a White House whisperer and Senate budget reformer
Missouri Sen. Eric Schmitt is a lawyer, former state attorney general and a skilled navigator of the old — and new — wings of the Republican Party. He also has another title: White House whisperer.
Schmitt joins POLITICO’s Dasha Burns to talk about his closeness with the Trump administration, driving the Senate’s $9.4 billion rescissions bill, his involvement with passing Trump’s “big, beautiful bill,” his belief in Medicaid reform, the controversy over the release of the Epstein files and what he describes as his “America First” — but not isolationist — foreign policy approach.
“I think a slur that's often uttered is that it's an isolationist point of view,” Schmitt told Burns. “That's not true at all.”
(Note: This interview was conducted before the Senate and House passage of the rescissions bill.)
Plus, POLITICO reporter Ben Jacobs digs into his reporting on social media influencers running for office and how the phenomenon is reshaping electoral politics.
Listen and subscribe to The Conversation with Dasha Burns on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
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Trump Border Czar Tom Homan: ‘There Will Be No Amnesty’
Tom Homan, Trump’s border czar, is a longtime immigration law enforcement official now tasked with helping implement the administration’s massive deportation campaign. In a wide-ranging interview with POLITICO’s Dasha Burns, Homan explains what will be done with the $170 billion recently passed by Congress to help the effort, defends the tactics of ICE agents, and has a message for those who say undocumented farmworkers should be spared. “People who say ‘don't arrest workers,’ they don't understand the whole ugly underbelly of illegal immigration the way I do,” he tells Burns.
Plus, on the one year anniversary of the assassination attempt on Donald Trump in Butler, PA, journalist Salena Zito shares her first-hand account as described in her new book, “Butler: The Untold Story of the Near Assassination of Donald Trump and the Fight for America's Heartland.”
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Marco Rubio on his Many White House Roles. Plus a chat with Trump’s ‘Chief Twitter troll’
Marco Rubio joins POLITICO’s Dasha Burns for an exclusive interview to discuss his dual roles as Secretary of State and National Security Advisor as he navigates the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran. Burns is later joined by Alex Bruesewitz to discuss his rise from very online Trump supporter to close adviser to the president, and why vigorous online debate has helped, not hurt, the MAGA coalition. Plus, POLITICO diplomatic correspondent Felicia Schwartz at The Hague during the NATO Summit discusses the diplomatic efforts underway amid ceasefire talks between Israel and Iran.
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Ro Khanna on Elon Musk and Fighting the Establishment
California Rep. Ro Khanna is one of the Democratic Party’s key progressive voices, but he has no problem picking fights with his fellow Democrats or aligning himself with conservatives when he sees common ground. “I'm kind of blunt-spoken. I say what's on my mind,” he tells POLITICO’s Dasha Burns. In this week’s episode, Khanna lays out his concerns about the U.S. getting involved in the Israel-Iran conflict, why he thinks Democrats lost voters to Trump and how he thinks the party can win them back. “I actually think that at the end of Trumpism, this country is going to be exhausted by the bombast,” he tells Burns. “I think we need to offer a substantive vision for the country and to elevate the American debate.” (Note: This interview was conducted prior to Trump’s announcement on Saturday evening that the U.S. bombed three Iranian nuclear sites. Here is Rep. Khanna’s response to this announcement.)
Plus, senior politics editor Sally Goldenberg joins Burns to discuss the crowded, chaotic New York City primary mayoral race and its national implications for the Democratic Party.
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The Conversation with POLITICO’s Dasha Burns is a fresh take on the traditional Sunday show format, going beyond conventional wisdom and short sound bites to broaden the political conversation. Each week, Dasha will sit down with one of the most compelling – and sometimes unexpected – power players in Washington and beyond for a real discussion about how they are shaping the current moment.
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