In yet another broken promise, the administration of MAGA Republican President Donald Trump has approved two pesticides containing PFAS—a “forever chemical”—as an active ingredient.
As of November 20, Trump's Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had approved a pesticide containing cyclobutrifluram and another containing isocycloseram.
PFAS—perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances—are classified as forever chemicals because they are extremely resistant to breaking down, leading to their accumulation in the environment (soil, water, air), in the food chain (plants and animals), and in the human body.
Trump’s EPA has proposed the approval of five pesticides containing PFAS, all of which are likely to be banned by the European Union, creating a future issue for exporting any crops treated with these pesticides.
In November 2024, when Trump announced he would nominate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as his Health and Human Services Secretary, the then President-elect claimed:
"[RFK Jr. would] play a big role in helping ensure that everybody will be protected from harmful chemicals, pollutants, pesticides, pharmaceutical products, and food additives that have contributed to the overwhelming health crisis in this country."
"Mr. Kennedy will restore these agencies to the traditions of gold standard scientific research, and beacons of transparency, to end the chronic disease epidemic, and to make America great and healthy again!"
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Extensive research has linked PFAS to several adverse human health effects including:
- developmental issues in fetuses and infants
- low-birthweight
- pregnancy-induced hypertension
- weakened immune responses
- impacts on the thyroid, liver, and kidney function
- high cholesterol
- an increased risk of certain cancers.
People sounded off about Trump's EPA's priorities and RFK Jr.'s ineptitude.
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With Trump's tariffs already impacting agricultural exports by U.S. farmers, these new pesticides won't help.
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People wondered why RFK Jr. was asleep at the wheel.
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Prior to becoming Trump’s HHS Secretary, RFK Jr. vowed to review the standards for approving chemicals and pesticides and put more restrictions on them as part of his “Make America Healthy Again” agenda, citing a 2019 study of a number of chemicals banned in the European Union but approved in the United States.
RFK Jr. hasn't spoken out about either EPA approval.
Instead, Kennedy has turned a blind eye to actual harm and health risks backed by legitimate research to promote his debunked pseudoscience and antivaxxer conspiracy theories that have made him millions of dollars as an untrained health expert.
In a statement from Nathan Donley, environmental health science director at the Center for Biological Diversity, the conservation organization shared:
"To approve more PFAS pesticides amid the growing awareness of the serious, long-term dangers from these forever chemicals is absurdly shortsighted."
"The undeniable reality is that the Trump administration is knowingly putting the nation’s children at greater risk of developing serious reproductive and liver harms for generations to come."
So, how does poisoning current and future generations make America great—or healthy—again?
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