Trump administration actions contradict MAHA rhetoric on toxic chemicals

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s Make America Healthy Again schedule proposes to get free of toxins successful nan situation and nutrient supply. But nan Trump management is cutting backmost resources and regulations needed to execute that. Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images hide caption

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Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images

It was a surreal infinitesimal for Susanne Brander.

She was sitting successful nan assemblage astatine a convention successful April arsenic Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said astir nan wellness effects of vulnerability to harmful chemicals successful our food, aerial and water.

As she listened, Kennedy cited caller investigation connected microplastics from researchers successful Oregon, uncovering these mini particles had shown up successful 99% of nan seafood they sampled.

"It was decidedly our study," says Brander, an ecotoxicologist astatine Oregon State University who co-authored nan research on pinch a squad astatine Portland State University.

The problem was, conscionable an hr earlier while successful statement for breakfast, an email had popped into her inbox notifying her that a national assistance she'd relied connected to money her investigation for years — from nan Environmental Protection Agency — was being terminated.

Her research, nan missive explained, nary longer aligned pinch nan agency's priorities. And now present was nan standard-bearer of nan Trump administration's Make America Healthy Again, aliases MAHA, schedule elevating her work.

"I was baffled and incredibly frustrated," she recalls. "It feels for illustration they are promoting nan section while ripping retired nan foundation."

Kennedy and nan MAHA movement's emergence to powerfulness is disorienting for scientists and advocates successful biology wellness who are focused connected quality vulnerability to toxic chemicals and biology pollutants.

The investigation organization has agelong warned of troubling links to chronic disease, particularly for children, and have called for much authorities oversight of nan plastic, fossil substance and chemic industries. Kennedy is bringing attraction to nan rumor arsenic wellness secretary.

And yet successful nan first 5 months, nan Trump management has made moves that tally antagonistic to these very goals.

Health Secretary Kennedy speaks astatine nan Chemicals of Concern argumentation acme successful Charlotte, N.C., successful April. HHS/screenshot by NPR hide caption

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HHS/screenshot by NPR

"It's an tremendous contradiction successful actions," says Thomas Burke, a erstwhile EPA charismatic who directs nan Johns Hopkins Risk Sciences and Public Policy Institute.

The firings and downsizing of nan national workforce have disrupted teams that analyse toxic substances and pollutants. Broad cuts to federally funded investigation person imperiled applicable technological work. And regulators are weakening safeguards that limit contamination and different toxic chemicals.

Dr. Philip Landrigan, a starring fig successful biology wellness research, says nan disconnect was underscored erstwhile nan management released the MAHA Report past month, overseen by Kennedy and different Cabinet members, including EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin.

That document, which has come nether scrutiny for inaccurate aliases nonexistent citations, positions nan rumor of biology toxins and chemicals arsenic a cardinal privilege for tackling chronic illness successful children, on pinch diet, beingness activity, exertion usage and what it position "overmedicalization."

Reading it, Landrigan says he couldn't thief but deliberation astir nan wide harm nan Trump management is inflicting connected nan very agencies and technological organization pinch nan "expertise, acquisition and know-how to protect children against these hazards."

"You can't opportunity 1 point and do another," says Sue Fenton, who directs nan Center for Human Health and nan Environment astatine NC State University, contrasting nan administration's rhetoric astir cleanable h2o and aerial pinch its actions.

Yanked grants, cuts to staff

Examples of nan contradictions are not difficult to find.

Cuts to nan national workforce nether Kennedy's watch person hobbled NIOSH, nan National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, which responds to toxic chemicals and pollutants successful nan workplace.

During a information of layoffs, nan management eliminated astir of a section astatine nan Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that investigated biology hazards for illustration dense metals, aerial contamination and carcinogens. Though galore of these workers were reinstated conscionable past week, President Trump's projected fund calls for axing nan CDC halfway wherever nan section is housed.

President Trump, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Education Secretary Linda McMahon astatine an arena announcing nan merchandise of a Make America Healthy Again Commission study successful nan East Room of nan White House connected May 22. Several different members of Trump's Cabinet who served connected nan commission, including EPA caput Lee Zeldin, besides attended. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images hide caption

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Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

The National Institutes of Health, which is nether Kennedy's command, has stopped accepting submissions for its flagship diary connected biology health and yanked investigation grants. For instance, Ami Zota, an biology wellness intelligence astatine Columbia University, had each 4 of her NIH grants canceled, though she was looking astatine chemic vulnerability successful user products and search really PFAS chemicals impact women's health, during gestation and midlife.

At slightest 8 members of Project TENDR, which studies nan harm of toxic chemicals connected encephalon improvement and its nexus to neurodevelopmental disorders, person mislaid national grants, says Maureen Swanson, who co-leads nan group.

She says different 4 to 5 members are still waiting to perceive astir "pending cuts, including to multimillion-dollar grants that money their universities' biology wellness investigation centers."

In a statement, nan Department of Health and Human Services said Kennedy "is committed to uncovering nan guidelines causes of nan chronic illness epidemic, including nan toxins successful our situation and our food." And nan agency has said that it plans to consolidate and streamline activity connected biology health astatine CDC and elsewhere into nan soon-to-be-formed Administration for a Healthy America, aliases AHA.

Regulations connected hold

At nan EPA, which would play a captious domiciled successful immoderate substantive efforts to trim harmful chemicals and pollution, nan agency's administrator Zeldin is prioritizing deregulation and cutting staff.

The agency has delayed implementing nationalist drinking h2o standards connected PFAS, aliases "forever chemicals," and proposed lifting regulations to trim emissions of mercury and toxic pollutants from powerfulness plants. It has pushed back nan deadline for manufacture to taxable information studies connected much than a twelve chemicals including benzene, vinyl chloride and Bisphenol A.

The management appointed a intelligence who spent years moving for nan American Chemistry Council, Nancy Beck, to a salient domiciled astatine nan EPA, contempt nan MAHA report's accent connected eliminating conflicts of interest.

Zeldin has moreover touted EPA's occurrence successful gutting investigation grants. The cuts person affected scientists who are trying to understand nan toxic effects of chemicals, including a interrogator astatine Wayne State University, Christopher Kassotis, whose work connected chemic mixtures was cited successful nan MAHA committee report.

Rebecca Fry, chair of nan section of biology wellness astatine UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, says each of her module pinch EPA grants had them canceled.

"Their attraction is precisely what's successful MAHA," she says. "They're trying to understand these analyzable associations betwixt chemicals successful nan situation and quality wellness and disease."

And Zota worries astir nan nonaccomplishment of grants astir nan state to train scientists connected nan toxic effects of biology chemicals. "It's conscionable truthful devastating," she says. "If you talk astir really to termination a field, you really onslaught nan up-and-coming generation."

The EPA said successful a connection to NPR that nan management is "working to lick large problems and having robust conversations crossed authorities astir really to thrust economical maturation while protecting quality wellness and nan situation arsenic portion of nan Make America Healthy Again Commission."

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, accompanied by Education Secretary Linda McMahon (R), speaks during a Cabinet gathering astatine nan White House connected April 30, 2025 successful Washington, DC. Andrew Harnik/Getty Images hide caption

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Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

A increasing interest among scientists

As Kennedy's MAHA push brings caller visibility to her field, Tracey Woodruff, who leads nan UCSF Center connected Reproductive Health and nan Environment, says she and galore of her colleagues are trying to navigate a delicate workout successful subject communication.

Kennedy has a history of making mendacious aliases misleading claims connected this topic, whether it's astir chemtrails, aliases nan effect of certain herbicides connected gender. His rhetoric astir nan "mass poisoning of children" tin veer into sweeping claims astir nan impacts of biology toxins, without capable technological evidence. And his actions connected vaccines person provoked alarm crossed nationalist health.

More broadly, MAHA's attraction connected biology toxins sometimes reflects a strain of thought successful nan world of replacement medicine and wellness that inaccurately frames immoderate "natural" constituent arsenic bully and man-made aliases synthetic chemicals arsenic bad.

But it's besides existent that erstwhile it comes to galore well-studied chemicals, including immoderate that Kennedy cites, "we person capable information to return action," she says. "If we don't talk astir nan things that he's saying that are existent issues nan authorities should beryllium addressing, I'm worried it will delegitimize each our work."

Woodruff and others successful her section person outlined their awesome areas of interest successful consensus statements and other peer-reviewed papers connected nan evidence tying synthetic chemicals and different substances to obesity, cancer, cardiovascular disease, fertility, neurodevelopmental disorders and more.

Phthalates, everlastingly chemicals, occurrence retardants, bisphenols, formaldehyde-releasing preservatives and definite pesticides are immoderate of nan culprits, but location are thousands successful usage that person ne'er been cautiously evaluated for their wellness effects, particularly connected infants and children.

"There are immense gaps successful nan measurement that we modulate aliases protect group from these harms," says Burke of Johns Hopkins.

It's enormously challenging to pinpoint nan effect of circumstantial substances because group brushwood truthful galore of them complete nan people of their lives. The grounds of harm often comes from laboratory activity and long-running observational studies that tin look for relationships pinch illness and wellness problems successful nan population.

Increasingly, researchers stress it's nan cumulative vulnerability that is astir concerning here.

"Many of these chemicals of interest onslaught nan aforesaid system successful nan quality assemblage and tin person additive aliases exponential effects," says Dr. Leonardo Trasande, who directs NYU Langone's Center for nan Investigation of Environmental Hazards and studies nan wellness impacts of endocrine-disrupting chemicals successful mundane products.

Linda Birnbaum, nan now-retired head of nan National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, was besides successful nan assemblage pinch Susanne Brander erstwhile Kennedy said astatine nan policy acme connected chemicals and plastics earlier this year.

She says astir "80% to 90%" of what she heard during that reside was "really good" astir nan request for awesome reform. "But location are nary elemental solutions. We're not going to cure chronic illness successful a twelvemonth aliases 3 years aliases 5 years," she says.

Questions astir a bold agenda

In nationalist appearances, Kennedy has outlined what experts picture arsenic an eager schedule to overhaul really nan U.S. evaluates chemicals, peculiarly successful nan realm of nutrient and immoderate user products.

"It would do what galore of america person been asking for for a agelong time," says Trasande astatine NYU. "I'm not trying to put rose-colored glasses on. I conscionable deliberation we person to telephone it fairly," he adds.

This includes looking astatine nan cumulative and substance effects of chemicals successful nan nutrient proviso and revising a regulatory pathway that allows companies to self-declare whether a nutrient additive is safe.

In a connection to NPR, HHS besides pointed to its announcement of a caller reappraisal programme to "reassess antecedently approved chemicals successful nutrient and food-contact worldly and grow information assessments to study endocrine and neurobehavioral effects." According to nan FDA, a nationalist website will stock accusation astir chemicals nether review.

But academics and defense groups that person pushed for specified changes are skeptical astir nan Trump administration's commitment.

Even connected eliminating petroleum-based nutrient dyes, an area that Kennedy has touted arsenic a awesome achievement, Woodruff points retired that nan management made this a voluntary determination for manufacturers, not an outright ban.

"We're not seeing immoderate meaningful action," says Katherine O'Brien, a elder lawyer astatine nan nonprofit defense group Earthjustice.

"What we've seen is splashy property releases, handshake agreements pinch industry, and fundamentally plans to make plans," she says, "but what reduces nan incidence of chronic diseases from chemic contamination is utilizing nan national government's existent regulatory authority."

She and different advocates opportunity there's a batch nan Trump management could do quickly — actions for illustration prohibiting phthalates successful nutrient packaging, which groups for illustration hers person wanted nan FDA to do for years.

And nan reality is that immoderate broad effort to ace down connected harmful chemicals requires nan EPA to besides wield its regulatory powers because nan substances besides show up successful our h2o and nan environment.

Maria Doa, a erstwhile EPA intelligence now astatine nan Environmental Defense Fund, says this is simply a glaring inconsistency successful nan Trump administration's MAHA platform.

"You request to return a holistic approach," she says. "You shouldn't beryllium pulling backmost efforts to modulate our vulnerability to chemicals successful 1 area and opportunity you're going to beryllium much protective successful another."

As a self-described pragmatist, Linda Birnbaum says she hopes to salvage thing from nan "mess" that has disrupted truthful overmuch of her field, but mostly she's dubious.

"Very honestly, my interest pinch Kennedy, among others, is that arsenic soon arsenic he starts really trying to modulate immoderate of this stuff, manufacture is going to spell to Trump and they'll footwear him out," she says.