Washington D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Cory Booker, public health experts and cancer advocates joined an emergency virtual event today hosted by Protect Our Care and 314 Action to condemn the deeply misguided U.S. Supreme Court decision today in Monsanto Company v. Durnell.
AT ISSUE: The Supreme Court ruled in favor of industry and the Trump administration by effectively granting Donald Trump’s big chemical industry donors blanket immunity from state-based liability claims involving the cancer-linked glyphosate chemical found in Roundup pesticides. In the administration’s latest betrayal of the MAHA movement, Trump’s DOJ filed an amicus brief in support of Monsanto – now owned by Bayer — and Trump’s Principal Deputy Solicitor General argued alongside the chemical maker in court. The decision is also a major affront to cancer survivors, now denied a pathway to damages for any injuries and financial costs they may have endured following exposure to glyphosate.
MAHA leaders were quick to vent their disgust with the decision and the Trump administration’s leading role in it, per The Daily Caller
EXCERPTS FROM TODAY’S EMERGENCY PRESS EVENT:
U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ): “Today’s a really a grievous day where the people of the United States saw that their Supreme Court corrupted by massive gifts from billionaires and people of interest in matters before them. A court that takes gifts, from RVs to tuition to lavish gifts, sided with the wealthy, powerful multinational corporation reversing years and years of precedent, dismissing ultimately effectively hundreds and hundreds, in fact 1000s of cases. They sided with the big multinational corporations against the people. Worse than that, compounding that, is a president who said he stood with the MAHA movement has betrayed that movement by now siding with the big corporations and those who are poisoning people in our country. My heart goes out to all of those farmers, all of those farm workers, all of those families who are struggling with cancers that did not have to be so if there was integrity within our system, and that now that they have been inflicted with a horrific disease and horrible suffering. My heart goes out to them that a lot of their legal challenges, at least in this moment, have been blocked by the preemptive authority that the federal government has now fled through the Supreme Court in this administration. I am not deterred, because I’ve already seen the power of this movement already.”
Dr Vin Gupta, medical analyst and physician: “Today’s Supreme Court decision is a major setback for Americans who believe they deserve transparency and accountability when questions arise about the chemicals that they are exposed to, potentially every single day. It was a legal ruling, not a scientific one. The court did not decide whether glyphosate, which is the active ingredient in Roundup, the pesticide that is often used by gardeners and Americans across the country, whether that active ingredient causes cancer. If you’re part of the Maha movement because you want cleaner food, less exposure to environmental toxins, and less corporate influence over our health policy, this decision should give you pause, regardless of where you land on the science around glyphosate. Most Americans agree on one basic principle: access to independent science, honest communication about risk, and the ability to hold companies accountable when legitimate questions exist about their products. Public health isn’t about choosing between agriculture and health, it’s about earning trust through transparent information, rigorous science, and putting people ahead of politics or powerful interests. If Make America Healthy Again is going to mean anything, it has to apply personally, not just when it’s politically convenient, but also when powerful political interests and corporate interests are involved as well.”
Iowa State Senator and cancer survivor Catelin Drey: “Last year I was then diagnosed with uterine cancer the day after Christmas. So I spent the early weeks of my first session learning the legislative ropes and juggling appointments, a hysterectomy, and subsequent recovery. I am pleased to report that I am currently cancer free. This Supreme Court ruling is quite similar to an immunity bill that narrowly passed the Iowa Senate in early 2025 despite bipartisan opposition, and this bill would have stripped away Iowans’ legal protections while protecting massive foreign chemical companies, which sounds very familiar. Corporations of any industry should not be given blanket immunity if Iowans and Americans are injured by their products. This flies in the face of any sort of consumer protection, and it is deeply frustrating. We deserve to have our day in court, and that’s the position of the vast majority of my fellow Iowans. They also oppose giving pesticide companies immunity from lawsuits. What frustrates me most is that Iowans and Americans everywhere, who might find themselves in a similar position to myself to have every tool available to them to fight, cure, and recover from their cancer diagnosis, and removing consumer protections achieves none of that.”
Jake Johnson, educator in MN-01: “If you don’t know southern Minnesota, we are one of the most, one of the 10 most agriculturally productive congressional districts in America. So, agriculture isn’t something that we just do here. It’s actually who we are, and I talk to farmers and producers every week. It’s the way of life in small towns like the one I grew up in, and it’s the fabric of southern Minnesota. We’ve been holding town halls and round tables across our district, and one thing that is clear: our farmers do need pesticides to grow the food that feeds this country. Vut here’s another thing that I know. Just because a product is essential doesn’t mean that the company that makes it should be above the law. The reality is there are two different questions here. One, you know, our farmers deserve access to the tools that they need. At the same time, the companies that are making billions of dollars selling those tools have a responsibility to make them as safe as possible. Now, if they cause harm, they should be held accountable. That’s not anti-farmer, that’s pro accountability. And today’s Supreme Court decision sends exactly the wrong message to those companies. It tells giant corporations that if they have enough lawyers, enough lobbyists, and enough political influence, that the rules are going to be different from them than they are from everyone else. And unfortunately, that’s exactly how too many people already feel about Washington these days. When people have been harmed, these companies don’t start by asking, ‘how can we make things right for the people who have been harmed’. They hire lobbyists, lawyers, and then they hire politicians. They spend millions of dollars protecting themselves instead of taking responsibility. And now the Supreme Court has made it even harder for ordinary people, like farmers in my district to seek justice.”
Montana Representative and oncologist Dr. Melody Cunningham: “This, this decision is really a travesty, and I have to say this decision does not say that glyphosate or Roundup are safe. I think that that’s really important, because I think it’s a mixed message that this Supreme Court decision will send to many people, and I think people deserve accurate information. This decision shuts the door on cancer patients being able to sue Monsanto, and I really truly believe that this is going to embolden other corporations to ignore safety signals, not just cancer signals, but other safety signals about patients and people’s health, and it’s a really a public health travesty.”
Shaughnessy Naughton, 314 Action President: “Today the Supreme Court handed chemical manufacturers ‘Get Out Of Jail Free’ card. This decision throws out over 100,000 lawsuits and really puts poison and politics over patients. It’s a major setback for the MAHA movement, and that’s exactly what the Trump administration was asking for. RFK Jr was also quick to endorse it. I think it’s important to call out what a betrayal of the MAHA movement this is. RFK Jr. built his reputation suing Monsanto on behalf of patients who may have cancer from their product and promised to ban glyphosate. He didn’t do that, and he’s not doing anything to change the direction of how we use this in our food production. It’s a big win for chemical manufacturers, and real loss for farmers and the American people that should have their day in court.”
“It’s shocking how carelessly our nation’s health secretary RFK Jr., who spent decades fighting against the use of this very chemical, and this company has essentially bowed down to the pro-pollution and corporate agenda of the Trump administration and has defended this decision to put more Americans at risk, while abandoning the cancer survivors that are now denied a pathway to damages for injuries,” said Kayla Hancock, Director of Protect Our Care’s Public Health Project.”
Bernie Tamburro, retired lawn care specialist: “I spent 40 years in the chemical lawn care business. I hold a commercial pesticide license for all 40 of those years in the greater Cleveland area. Because of the ruling today, a lot of people are, to put it bluntly, getting screwed by the decision. I can’t speak to the chemistry, and I can’t speak to the science, but I can speak to the practical use of the product. It was misused, but for the chemical company not to address that and say, “Yep, we screwed up. The EPA screwed up, they mislabeled the product.” A lot of people suffered, and continue to suffer, because they mislabeled this product. Take responsibility, do what you have to do, make these people right, and move on. Apparently, they don’t want to do that. The Supreme Court doesn’t want to do that.”
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