Image by Arjun MJ.
MAHA (Make America Healthy Again) just got a poke in the eye as the US Supreme Court narrowed avenues for plaintiff cases against the chemical giant Bayer (formerly Monsanto). Ever since March 2015, when the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified glyphosate as a Group 2A “probable human carcinogen” tort cases exploded up to 170,000 claims of complications from Roundup.
The US president had already ‘greased the skids’ for the Supremes by declaring glyphosate as a crucial necessity for National Defense by signing an executive order; Promoting the National Defense by Ensuring an Adequate Supply of Elemental Phosphorus and Glyphosate-Based Herbicides d/d February 18, 2025.
Under the order, the US Secretary of Agriculture is directed to ensure that no government “order, rule, or regulation” threatens the financial viability of domestic producers of the substances. Hmm, it also grants those producers immunity under the Defense Production Act. Critics claimed this provision could be used to insulate manufacturers from legal accountability.
Some of the leaders of Make America Healthy Again (MAHA), the lobby group that supports US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy, immediately took umbrage, but RFK, Jr backed the executive order, claiming that it “safeguards America’s national security.”
According to the Lawsuit Information Center: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has long been a vocal critic of Roundup. In 2018 he was part of the legal team that successfully represented DeWayne Johnson in the 2018 landmark lawsuit against Monsanto, marking the first time the company faced a jury trial alleging its weedkiller Roundup causes cancer. RFK Jr.’s team won an historic $289 million verdict (later reduced) for the former school groundskeeper. The jury found that Monsanto acted with malice and failed to warn consumers of cancer risks
With Trump Administration backing, Bayer/Monsanto won a 7-2 US Supreme Court June 25, 2026 decision that agreed with the Monsanto (now owned by Bayer) argument that a federal law gives the power to set the label of Roundup to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, not to the states. This effectively knocks out tens of thousands of pending cases and potentially billions in awards to plaintiffs. The Supremes did not touch the alleged touchy subject of toxicity of Roundup, not part of the case.
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson strongly dissented in the Supreme Court’s 7-2 landmark decision in Monsanto Co. v. Durnell, which shielded Bayer from state-level “failure-to-warn” lawsuits regarding its glyphosate-based weedkiller, Roundup. She argued that federal law does not preempt these state claims and leaves injured consumers without a remedy.
A zoom call was quickly organized on the heels of the decision. U.S. Senator Cory Booker, public health experts and cancer advocates joined a virtual press event hosted by Protect Our Care and 314 Action in reaction to the U.S. Supreme Court decision today in Monsanto Company v. Durnellz: AT ISSUE: “The Supreme Court ruled in favor of industry and the Trump administration by effectively granting Donald Trump’s big chemical industry donors blanket immunity from state-based liability claims involving the cancer-linked glyphosate chemical found in Roundup pesticides. In the administration’s latest betrayal of the MAHA movement, Trump’s DOJ filed an amicus brief in support of Monsanto – now owned by Bayer — and Trump’s Principal Deputy Solicitor General argued alongside the chemical maker in court. The decision is also a major affront to cancer survivorsnow denied a pathway to damages for any injuries and financial costs they may have endured following exposure to glyphosate.”
The Supreme Court decision grants blanket immunity for the chemical industry from state-based liability claims on cancer-linked glyphosate chemical in Roundup pesticides. Accordingly, 100,000 cases are tossed out. According to Senator Cory Booker: “This is outrageous… the highest court in the land has the lowest ethics laws.” This makes MAHA laughable. Meanwhile, there is a crisis in our country with rampant corruption and misleading statements. Both political parties are allowing corruption to flourish. Regarding this recent Supreme Court decision, he intends to introduce an amendment to the pending Farm Bill to challenge this US Supreme Court decision.
And since Senator Booker mentioned the problem of corruption, here’s a link to a 30-min. speech on the Senate Floor by Senator Chris Murphy that details the issue.
