Divisions within the Republican Party have pitted health-minded activists against lawmakers from farm states and the Trump administration.
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WASHINGTON – The “Make America Healthy Again” movement that was key to President Donald Trump’s return to the White House is causing friction within the Republican Party ahead of the midterm elections.
New political rifts already jeopardize important legislation that farmers across the country have been waiting for. And that could have an even bigger impact on Republican control of Congress.
The evolving dynamics were on full display April 27 outside the Supreme Court, where a group of activists protested a lawsuit protecting pesticide companies from cancer lawsuits. The justices appear to be split on whether Bayer, the maker of the herbicide Roundup, should be protected from potential billions of dollars in liability. The Trump administration sided with Bayer in court, bowing to opposition from prominent MAHA officials.
As activists rallied on the courthouse steps, their arguments mirrored those that Republicans in Congress have been having for weeks on virtually the same issue. Local lawmakers are actively pushing for the inclusion of pro-pesticide provisions in the next farm bill. However, our more MAHA-oriented colleagues do not want to participate in such efforts. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-South Carolina) even introduced an amendment that would remove what she called a “pesticide loophole” from the law.
“South Carolina’s farmers, families, and communities deserve better,” she posted on social media.
Representatives Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Anna Paulina Luna of Florida, and Chip Roy of Texas are among conservatives who have publicly clashed with other Republicans. Luna said the farm bill “must be stopped.”
“I think big crops need to be body-checked,” Roy said, emphasizing the importance of warning labels for potential carcinogens and noting that he is a cancer survivor himself. “That labeling problem is very real.”
Several MAHA organizers told USA TODAY they are disappointed with the current state of the movement in Republican-led Washington. Nora Kemmerer, a Northern Virginia health care worker wearing a red MAHA hat, had no intention of voting for a Republican candidate in November.
“Let’s see what happens,” she said. “I don’t know how they’re voting right now…It’s frustrating.”
MAHA against pesticide companies
This is not the first time that efforts to protect pesticide companies from liability have been quietly included in major legislation this year.
A similar controversial provision sparked outrage in January when it nearly derailed a government funding bill. It was eventually repealed due to opposition from MAHA activists, but it was included in the Farm Bill several months later.
Rep. Glenn Thompson (R-Pennsylvania), chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, said new investments in U.S. agriculture are premature. He argued at a Congressional hearing on April 27 that the controversial parts of the bill are not a “liability shield.”
“The language we have put in place basically addresses what farmers need,” he said, arguing that it struck the right balance between consumer protection and agricultural reform.
Thompson’s comments defending the provision drew fierce criticism from across the aisle, including from Representative Jim McGovern of Massachusetts.
“Big companies are hungry for this,” McGovern said.
Zachary Schermele is a Congressional reporter for USA TODAY. You can email us at zschermele@usatoday.com. Follow him at @ZachSchermele on X and @zachschermele.bsky.social on Bluesky..
