Candidates aligned with the "Make America Healthy Again" movement are winning in Republican primaries, even as the movement's clout with the Trump administration declines.

Why it matters: Messaging around healthier food, farming practices and medical freedom that resonates with the GOP base has given the MAHA movement a life of its own.

Driving the news: Businessman Zach Lahn defeated Trump-backed Rep. Randy Feenstra in Iowa's Republican gubernatorial primary last week after vowing to take on big agriculture and pharmaceutical interests.

• Lahn was the first state-level candidate to earn the endorsement of MAHA Action, a group dedicated to advancing Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s agenda.

Elsewhere, Rep. Julia Letlow (R-La.) led last month's Louisiana Senate primary that included incumbent Sen. Bill Cassidy, advancing to a runoff against state Treasurer John Fleming with endorsements from both MAHA Action and President Trump.

• She embraced MAHA rhetoric about a broken health system and her state's chronic disease burden while portraying the movement as "not just a slogan."
• And in Ohio, former state Rep. Jay Edwards won a close primary race for state treasurer after touching on themes of health freedom and fighting for "real science." He's endorsed by the MAHA Institute, as well as Vice President JD Vance.

Lahn credited the MAHA seal of approval for helping him win his race with Feenstra.

• The MAHA PAC sent text messages to some 350,000 likely GOP voters touting Lahn and made hundreds of thousands of calls before the election.
• Video advertising from the PAC accused Feenstra of "taking contributions from Pfizer, drug companies, the insurance lobby and out-of-state political action committees," per a release.

Between the lines: Kennedy has been making campaign-style appearances with House Republican incumbents built around issues that include strengthening the food supply, improving public health and combating addiction.

• But they've come amid a widening MAGA-MAHA rift in Washington over issues like production of the pesticide glyphosate and regulation of "forever chemicals."
• The White House has also curbed Kennedy's autonomy in recent months.

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A diabetes research conference triggered a free speech debate after five scientists were removed by police on Friday for handing out an editorial criticizing Trump administration policies they said threaten the field.

Why it matters: The incident at the American Diabetes Association's annual meeting underscored tensions within the research community over whether to risk political backlash by openly criticizing the administration.

Driving the news: The scientists were escorted out of a New Orleans convention hall after handing out printed copies of an April editorial in the journal Diabetes Care that called out the administration for budget cuts, reductions in grant opportunities and NIH staff cuts, per accounts on MedPage.

• NIH director Jay Bhattacharya was due to address the conference but canceled.
• The American Diabetes Association said the behavior wasn't consistent with the conference's code of conduct, which calls on participants to act "in a professional and respectful manner," and that allowing partisanship at its event might run afoul of its nonprofit mission.

One of the scientists, Northwestern University pediatric obesity researcher Justin Ryder, said he was told the diabetes association would have him arrested if he tried to return to the conference, according to Bloomberg.

• The incident resonated in Congress, where Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.), the top Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce health subcommittee, said it appeared to be "a blatant act of political censorship" and called for an explanation.

A handful of localities and outside groups is asking a court to freeze an administration rule for Affordable Care Act markets that they say undercuts the health law and will make coverage less affordable and harder to obtain.

The big picture: Some of the same plaintiffs won a preliminary injunction against marketplace changes the administration pursued last year, in a case that's still ongoing.

Driving the news: The coalition — which includes Baltimore, Chicago, Columbus, Ohio, and Pima County, Arizona — this time is targeting proposals such as allowing insurers to sell individual plans with higher out-of-pocket spending caps for certain enrollees, letting insurers market plans without a list of in-network doctors and hospitals, and increasing eligibility checks.

• It charges that the administration overreached and violated the Administrative Procedure Act.

Context: The rule, finalized in May, comes amid upheaval in the ACA marketplace: Enhanced premium subsidies have expired, and the Trump administration is promoting high-deductible ACA plans.

The administration has said the proposed changes are aimed at cracking down on improper and misleading practices while giving states and health plans more room to lower costs and offer more coverage choices.

🏢 Kennedy is detached from much of the work at HHS, instead focusing on a few top priorities and hunting for evidence that vaccines are harmful. (NYT)

🩸 A "blood cleansing" treatment gaining popularity in the longevity space appears to reduce microplastics in the bloodstream, per new research. (Axios)

🥼 Boehringer Ingelheim said its experimental obesity drug cut visceral and liver fat in a study, bolstering its case for benefits beyond weight loss. (Reuters)