The "Make America Healthy Again" (MAHA) movement, a key ally of the Trump administration, is clashing with Republican lawmakers over provisions related to pesticides and toxic chemicals in a House appropriations bill.
Groups aligned with MAHA, led by Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., say the legislation shields pesticide and chemical manufacturers from accountability, according to The Hill.
A draft of the White House's "MAHA report," reviewed by The New York Times, also leaves out calls to prevent pesticide exposure — a move that has disappointed advocates.
"It's obvious that there are tensions within this newfound coalition between MAHA and MAGA, and there are some big issues there," said Mary Holland, CEO of Children's Health Defense, a group Kennedy founded.
At the center of the dispute is language in the House bill preventing states from imposing pesticide label requirements that differ from federal standards. Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, who chairs the Interior-Environment Appropriations Subcommittee, defended the measure, saying it avoids "a patchwork of state labeling requirements."
But environmental advocates argue the change would freeze pesticide labeling in outdated science and restrict states from enacting stricter protections, such as buffer zones near schools. Geoff Horsfield of the Environmental Working Group warned the provision could leave the public exposed to outdated health standards for more than a decade.
Critics also say the measure could limit legal recourse against pesticide companies. "Having no access to courts is absolutely devastating and, in my view, unconstitutional," Holland said.
Democrats are also opposing the bill. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., said it "effectively gag[s] our public health agencies, preventing them from updating labels or rules to reflect new evidence of cancer risks."
The bill further restricts EPA enforcement of a draft risk assessment on PFAS, commonly known as "forever chemicals," which have been linked to cancer and environmental contamination. Republicans say the draft contains "technical flaws," but advocates insist blocking enforcement undermines public safety.
MAHA activists condemned both provisions in a letter to President Donald Trump, calling GOP support "unconscionable." Yet some within the movement, including MAHA Action PAC president Tony Lyons, blamed Democrats for politicizing the issue.
Trump has also moved to ease environmental oversight more broadly, granting exemptions from federal standards to more than 100 polluters, including chemical manufacturers, oil refineries, coal plants, and medical device sterilizers.
At the same time, the EPA has installed former chemical industry executives in key leadership roles and signaled plans to relax restrictions on emissions of several chemicals linked to cancer.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.