Leaders of the Make America Healthy Again movement are revolting after a Supreme Court ruling shut down thousands of lawsuits over a widely used weedkiller.
In a 7-2 decision, the conservative majority on the court ruled in favor of Monsanto, which produces the herbicide Roundup—a major blow to plaintiffs who allege the product caused cancer and are seeking millions in damages. The two dissenters were liberal Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson and conservative Justice Neil M. Gorsuch.
Writing for the majority, Trump-appointed Justice Brett Kavanaugh argued that Monsanto could not be held liable because federal regulators approved the product’s labeling. He then cited the Environmental Protection Agency’s conclusion that glyphosate is unlikely to pose a cancer risk to humans who follow the label’s instructions.
But that finding remains highly contested. In fact, Mother Jones reported this week that the EPA has known for roughly 13 years that Monsanto ghostwrote a scientific paper concluding that glyphosate is safe.
As a result, glyphosate has emerged as a lightning rod for the MAHA movement, a powerful coalition that helped Trump return to office. And after Trump and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. both promoted the weedkiller earlier this year, this may just be the final straw.
In statements provided to the Daily Beast, several of the movement’s leaders aired their frustrations at what some called a “betrayal” by SCOTUS and the Trump administration, which sided with Bayer before the Supreme Court.
“For decades, Republicans have preached about the importance of states’ rights and ‘pro-life values,’ but today’s ruling in favor of Bayer-Monsanto’s right to shield themselves from cancer lawsuits is more proof that this is just empty rhetoric from a morally bankrupt party and a Supreme Court that continues to put corporate profits over the health of Americans,” said David Murphy, a former director on Kennedy’s failed presidential campaign and the founder of United We Eat.
Another of Kennedy’s former campaign employees chimed in, too.
“The Supreme Court has chosen to interpret FIFRA in a way that serves corporate interests at the expense of states’ rights and public welfare,” said Charles Einstein, a former speechwriter for the Kennedy scion and conspiracy theorist.
Former Ohio congressman Tim Ryan, a prominent Democratic voice in the MAHA movement, slammed Trump’s “betrayal” of his base.
“President Trump campaigned on MAHA and then filed legal briefs protecting Bayer-Monsanto from farmers who got cancer because of their products,” he said.
“That’s a serious betrayal. There’s a real awakening happening in this country around food safety and toxic chemicals, and this court ruling cannot stop that.”
Zen Honeycutt of Moms Across America also said the SCOTUS decision would galvanize the movement into further action.
“Citizen scientists, activists, and farmers everywhere will only get louder and more creative because of this ruling,” Honeycutt said.
The Daily Beast has reached out to the Department of Health and Human Services for comment.
Kennedy isn’t spared from the backlash, either. The health secretary himself has previously argued in court that Monsanto knew glyphosate caused cancer—and helped secure a $289 million jury verdict against the company in 2018, according to The New York Times.
“The herbicide Glyphosate is one of the likely culprits in America’s chronic disease epidemic. Much more widely used here than in Europe,” Kennedy wrote on X in June 2024 while campaigning for president.
“Shockingly, much of our exposure comes from its use as a desiccant on wheat, not as an herbicide,” he continued. “From there it goes straight into our bodies. My USDA will ban that practice.”
Well, his health department certainly has not.
