Washington D.C. – HHS Secretary Kennedy is facing accusations of hypocrisy and betrayal of the so-called MAHA movement today after unequivocally defending Donald Trump’s late-night executive order invoking the Defense Production Act to bring back production of glyphosate, the key ingredient in Roundup herbicide that has been repeatedly linked to cancer.
Kennedy — a ‘well-known’ opponent of pesticides for years who “blam[ed] them for America’s chronic disease epidemic” – was even part of a legal team on one of the largest lawsuits against an agribusiness that produced glyphosate. Just last month, a 2000 study that found that glyphosate wasn’t a human health risk was retracted by the scientific journal that published it a quarter century ago, citing “serious ethical concerns regarding the independence and accountability of the authors.”
As Reuters notes, manufacturer Bayer is “facing claims over Roundup from approximately 65,000 plaintiffs in U.S. state and federal courts. The plaintiffs say they developed non-Hodgkin lymphoma and other forms of cancer after using the weedkiller, either at home or on the job.” Indeed, a scientific review released in November 2025 detailed new findings that “continue to provide consistent, coherent and compelling evidence that glyphosate and GBFs are a cause of non-Hodgkin lymphoma in humans exposed to these agents.”
“This was one of the few issues where Secretary Kennedy actually embraced credible science,” said Kayla Hancock, Director of Public Health Watch, a project of Protect Our Care. “But RFK Jr. tossed out his years of anti-pesticide advocacy and conviction like a used tissue to stay in the good graces of Donald Trump, who cares more about making his chemical company donors happy than protecting the public’s health. This makes it clear, Secretary Kennedy has no problem selling out his supposed value if there’s a quick buck to be made for special interest donors, or political points to be scored.”
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