President Donald Trump has signed an executive order invoking the Defense Production Act to shore up U.S. supplies of glyphosate and its key input, elemental phosphorus—an action that has drawn sharp criticism from parts of the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement even as Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. defended the move as a national security measure.
On Wednesday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that invokes the Defense Production Act to prioritize domestic supplies of glyphosate-based herbicides—chemicals commonly used in agriculture and found in Bayer’s Roundup products—along with elemental phosphorus, an input used to make glyphosate.
In the order, Trump argued that maintaining an adequate supply of these materials is “crucial to the national security and defense, including food-supply security.” The directive tells the secretaries of Agriculture and Defense to determine nationwide priorities under the Defense Production Act needed to ensure an “adequate supply” of both elemental phosphorus and glyphosate-based herbicides.
The move has angered some MAHA-aligned activists, who have made pesticide exposure—especially glyphosate—a top concern and who say the decision undercuts promises they believed the administration made to reduce potentially harmful chemicals in the food system.
Kennedy, a longtime critic of glyphosate, defended the order as a national security step. In a statement reported by Reuters, he said the administration needed to address vulnerabilities created when “hostile actors control critical inputs,” arguing that expanding domestic production would help protect American families.
The backlash comes amid heavy litigation over glyphosate. Plaintiffs have filed tens of thousands of lawsuits alleging exposure to Roundup caused cancer. Bayer—which acquired Monsanto in 2018 and has repeatedly disputed claims that glyphosate causes cancer—recently proposed a $7.25 billion settlement to address the ongoing litigation, according to Reuters.
Public debate over glyphosate’s health risks remains contested and has produced different conclusions across institutions. The World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer classified glyphosate as “probably carcinogenic to humans” in 2015, while the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has said glyphosate is not likely to be carcinogenic to humans when used as directed.
MAHA supporters, meanwhile, have aired their frustration online. Reuters quoted Kelly Ryerson, co-executive director of American Regeneration and a prominent critic of glyphosate, saying she saw little hope of “preserving the MAHA vote” after the executive order. Reuters also reported that the group Moms Across America circulated a petition urging Trump to rescind the order.
The dispute adds to broader strains between MAHA health priorities and other parts of the administration’s agenda. On Friday, the Environmental Protection Agency rolled back Biden-era updates to the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards for coal-fired power plants, a decision the agency said would preserve existing 2012 requirements while easing compliance costs; public health and environmental groups warned the change could increase exposure to mercury and other hazardous pollutants.
With all U.S. House seats and a third of U.S. Senate seats up for election in November 2026, some MAHA-aligned organizers and strategists have argued the glyphosate decision could become a political liability for Republicans if it depresses support among health-focused voters who were part of Trump’s 2024 coalition.
