Supreme Court Hears Bayer Appeal on Federal Preemption of Glyphosate Lawsuits

Kennedy testified before lawmakers last month that the president’s executive order was necessary to protect domestic manufacturing while farmers are still “addicted” to the herbicide. ” The Trump administration has invested more than $1 billion in regenerative agriculture projects from the Agriculture Department, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the EPA.

The USDA investment in regenerative agriculture was announced in December 2025.

The American Farm Bureau Federation and the Modern Agriculture Alliance praised Trump’s executive order to prioritize glyphosate production. A 2025 study published in the journal Toxics by Lebanese and Hungarian researchers identified three major areas of concern about glyphosate: its impact on crop health, its effect on crop nutrition, and its persistence in the environment.

Glyphosate was found in 36% of 154 water samples collected from Midwestern states.

MAHA advocates have pressed for stricter oversight. Last year, MAHA advocates gathered thousands of signatures for a petition to oust EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin. Lawmakers pressed EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin over his approach to glyphosate during several hearings last month.

Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-ME) appeared at the “People versus Poison” rally led by MAHA activists as the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the glyphosate case. Rep. Chellie Pingree cited a letter sent to the EPA administrator in which MAHA activists called on the agency to initiate an emergency review of pesticides banned in peer nations.

MAHA activists asked the EPA to tighten regulations on toxic pesticides, shut the revolving door between the EPA and the chemical industry, and rebuild the Office of Research and Development. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin told Rep. ” Rep.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez chided Zeldin for meeting with Bayer executives in 2025 ahead of the case going before the Supreme Court. Visitor logs and EPA emails show Bayer’s CEO, VP, and lobbyist meeting with Zeldin’s EPA before their EO/SCOTUS filing. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin denied discussing the glyphosate case with Bayer executives.

A recent poll conducted in May by the health policy group KFF found that about 2 in 3 voters believe there is not enough regulation of pesticide use in agriculture. The same KFF poll found that only 36% of respondents said they had at least some confidence in the EPA to act independently without outside influence.

It also found that about 4 in 10 voters said they had at least a fair amount of trust in agriculture companies to act in the best interests of public health while only 2 in 10 respondents said they had at least a fair amount of trust in pharmaceutical companies such as Bayer.

Polling from March conducted by the Democratic strategy group 314 Action found that 76% of voters support reducing pesticides in agriculture, including 47% who strongly support. Federal pesticide regulations are increasingly splitting the GOP ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, pitting industrial farmers against Make America Healthy Again activists.

Washington Examiner reported that a swath of the MAHA coalition that helped President Donald Trump win back the presidency in 2024 is disappointed in his administration’s failure to tighten regulations on the herbicide.