The Make America Healthy Again movement appears to be collapsing under the weight of its own contradictions. The Trump administration has authorized the continued use of atrazine, a cancer-causing pesticide banned in more than 60 countries. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the man appointed to lead the nation’s health agenda, has said absolutely nothing about it.
The silence is deafening given what RFK Jr. said publicly just last year. In 2024, he tweeted, “My EPA will ban atrazine.”
That promise is now worthless. The administration he serves has done the opposite, and Kennedy has not pushed back in any public or meaningful way.
This follows a similar pattern with glyphosate. Kennedy spent years as a lawyer advocating against chemical companies over glyphosate-related cancers and won significant settlements for people harmed by the pesticide. The Trump administration then moved to not only allow glyphosate but increase its use. Kennedy said nothing.
The atrazine decision is not an isolated regulatory move. The Trump administration has also proposed repealing drinking water limits for four PFAS forever chemicals, including the notorious contaminant known as GenX, which polluted North Carolina’s Cape Fear River. Under this proposal, water providers would no longer be required to test or filter for these pollutants.
The rollback is being framed internally as a pro-growth move to benefit data centers, which use PFAS in cooling fluids, semiconductors, and construction materials. Those forever chemicals are expected to end up in freshwater sources and water tables across Ohio and Kentucky.
The administration has also waived 29 environmental and conservation laws, including the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act, to build roads and barriers across protected habitats in Texas. In total, the Trump administration has rolled back at least 112 environmental protections since taking office.
Average life expectancy in the United States has already been declining. Decisions like these, which introduce carcinogens into the food supply and drinking water without restriction, multiply that trend in ways that may not be fully understood for years.
The regulatory framework being dismantled was designed to do something straightforward: make sure products are safe before they reach the public. Many countries in Europe operate on the principle that safety must be demonstrated before something enters the market. The United States, under this administration, appears to be moving further away from that standard.
Kennedy was brought into this administration, at least in part, because of his longtime advocacy against the very chemicals now being approved. His presence has provided cover for an administration pursuing policies he once described as dangerous. The people who supported him based on that advocacy are left with little to show for it.
The gap between what was promised and what is being delivered grows wider with each regulatory rollback, and the people most affected are the ones with the least power to do anything about it.
