Democrats seize on MAHA's growing frustration with GOP [View all]

Source: The Hill

05/03/26 5:00 PM ET


Democrats see an opening ahead of the midterm elections with increasingly disappointed Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) voters. Many activists in the MAHA base are furious with the Trump administration over its backing of not only a controversial weed killer ingredient but also pesticides more broadly. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s defense of those moves has deepened the sense of disillusionment among his followers who helped deliver President Trump to the White House.

An executive order prioritized the domestic production of glyphosate, a key ingredient in Roundup, a controversial herbicide that’s widely used in commercial farming. The administration also sided with drug company Bayer in a Supreme Court lawsuit over the chemical.

On Capitol Hill, tensions flared over language in the farm bill that would have restricted certain lawsuits against pesticide companies — though the language was ultimately stripped via amendment Thursday. Many Democrats are also critical of the chemical industry and are leaning into what could be a natural alliance with the MAHA voters.

“I have told many of my colleagues over the years, ‘You’re crazy if you don’t talk to people about food and toxins,’” Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) said when asked if Democrats should be trying to engage with MAHA voters. Pingree was a leading voice in the fight to remove the pro-pesticide language. Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) this week introduced legislation to overturn Trump’s glyphosate executive order.

Read more: https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/5858460-democrats-target-maha-voters/