Health

douglas9

(5,736 posts) Thu Feb 19, 2026, 07:04 AM Thursday

Trump Order Aims to Boost Weedkiller Targeted in Health Lawsuits

President Trump issued an executive order late Wednesday aimed at spurring the domestic production of glyphosate, a widely used weedkiller that has figured in health lawsuits.

The move immediately set off alarms among supporters of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s “Make America Healthy Again” movement, and appeared to put Mr. Kennedy in an awkward position.

Glyphosate is the active ingredient in Roundup, which has been the target of tens of thousands of lawsuits that claim it causes non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. In 2018, as a plaintiff’s lawyer, Mr. Kennedy helped win a landmark $289 million jury verdict against Monsanto, the maker of Roundup, in a case contending the company knew the weedkiller caused cancer.

But in a statement issued through a spokesman Wednesday night, the health secretary said he supported the president.

“Donald Trump’s executive order puts America first where it matters most — our defense readiness and our food supply,” Mr. Kennedy said in the statement. “We must safeguard America’s national security first, because all of our priorities depend on it.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/18/us/politics/trump-boost-weedkiller.html

6 replies

= new reply since forum marked as read

Highlight:

Trump Order Aims to Boost Weedkiller Targeted in Health Lawsuits (Original Post) douglas9 Thursday OP

where is that video of rfk gargling with roundup? rampartd Thursday #1

I said it before and I'll say it again Endlessmike56 Thursday #2

Trump is trying to burn it all down BlueWaveNeverEnd Thursday #5

Someone, please, go spray it all over Ilsa Thursday #3

National security, Bob? What, are we gonna make chemical weapons with it? ms liberty Thursday #4

MaddowBlog-Trump executive order on a weed killer chemical didn't do RFK Jr. any favors LetMyPeopleVote 19 hrs ago #6

rampartd

(4,408 posts)

1. where is that video of rfk gargling with roundup?

Reply to douglas9 (Original post)

Thu Feb 19, 2026, 07:07 AM

Thursday

aren't they killing us fast enough already?

Endlessmike56

(165 posts)

2. I said it before and I'll say it again

Reply to douglas9 (Original post)

Thu Feb 19, 2026, 07:09 AM

Thursday

They’re trying to kill us

BlueWaveNeverEnd

(13,634 posts)

5. Trump is trying to burn it all down

Reply to Endlessmike56 (Reply #2)

Thu Feb 19, 2026, 08:05 AM

Thursday

Ilsa

(64,122 posts)

3. Someone, please, go spray it all over

Reply to douglas9 (Original post)

Thu Feb 19, 2026, 07:15 AM

Thursday

the Oval, T's tv room, bedroom, gold toilet room.

ms liberty

(11,106 posts)

4. National security, Bob? What, are we gonna make chemical weapons with it?

Reply to douglas9 (Original post)

Thu Feb 19, 2026, 07:34 AM

Thursday

And who will the Orange Monster use them on, Bob?

LetMyPeopleVote

(177,634 posts)

6. MaddowBlog-Trump executive order on a weed killer chemical didn't do RFK Jr. any favors

Reply to douglas9 (Original post)

Sat Feb 21, 2026, 01:42 PM

19 hrs ago

The “Make America Healthy Again” agenda is riddled with a series of overlapping contradictions, which are becoming even more common.

When RFK Jr. was on the campaign trail in 2024, he vowed that if he joined Trumpâ€™s team, he would â€œban the worst agricultural chemicals.â€

I have some bad news for the voters who actually believed he'd follow through on this.
www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...
— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2026-02-19T18:25:23.000Z

https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trump-executive-order-on-a-weed-killer-chemical-didnt-do-rfk-jr-any-favors

About a year later, in November 2025, the Republican administration advanced a plan to approve agricultural pesticides containing “forever chemicals” as an active ingredient, despite concerns raised by some scientists and environmental activists. Kennedy, in his capacity as Trump’s health and human services secretary, bit his tongue.

This year, the underlying dynamic has reached a new level. The New York Times reported:

President Trump issued an executive order late Wednesday aimed at spurring the domestic production of glyphosate, a widely used weedkiller that has figured in health lawsuits.

The move immediately set off alarms among supporters of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s ‘Make America Healthy Again’ movement, and appeared to put Mr. Kennedy in an awkward position.

As the report explains, glyphosate is the active ingredient in Roundup, which has been the target of tens of thousands of lawsuits that claim it causes non-Hodgkin lymphoma......

This has been an ongoing issue for months. In June, MS NOW’s Catherine Rampell wrote a memorable Washington Post column along these lines, noting that Kennedy’s MAHA agenda is rooted in part in the idea that Americans’ health would greatly improve through better nutrition and exposure to fewer environmental toxins.

Kennedy, Rampell added, is nevertheless playing a leading role in an administration that’s “expanding use of environmental toxins.”

If Kennedy and Team Trump wanted to admit that the MAHA agenda was largely focused on undermining vaccines, it would be impolitic, but it would also be far closer to the truth.

Reply to this discussion