A recent executive order from President Donald Trump designating the herbicide glyphosate and elemental phosphorus as critical to U.S. national security has triggered urgent and vocal criticism from leaders and activists within the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement, a health-oriented political coalition that helped bolster Trump’s political support.

The White House invoked the Defense Production Act to prioritize domestic production of glyphosate, the active ingredient in widely used weedkillers such as Roundup, citing its importance for the agricultural sector and broader economic resilience.

MAHA figures, however, say the move fundamentally contradicts the movement’s mission to reduce harmful chemical exposures and improve public health outcomes, particularly given long-standing concerns about glyphosate’s links to non-Hodgkin lymphoma and other health issues.

Advocates including the founder of Moms Across America and other MAHA activists have described the decision as a betrayal of commitments made to the movement’s supporters, especially maternal voters who had been mobilized around pledges to address chronic disease and environmental health risks.

Some of these leaders point to the executive order as evidence of a growing divide between the administration’s agricultural policy priorities and MAHA’s public health agenda, warning that it could undermine grassroots support ahead of crucial midterm elections.

Trump administration officials have defended the order, emphasizing that it does not endorse specific products but seeks to bolster domestic supply chains for essential agricultural inputs and strengthen national defense.

The Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Agriculture have also said they are supporting research into sustainable farming practices, with a focus on new crop protection tools and regulatory review mechanisms.

The episode highlights mounting tensions within the broader MAHA coalition, which is led by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who previously litigated against glyphosate manufacturers and has long framed pesticide exposure as a significant public health concern.

As the debate over chemical regulation and agricultural policy intensifies, the fallout from the executive order is likely to reverberate across policy discussions in Washington, shaping how health, environmental and agricultural priorities are balanced in the months ahead.