MAHA movement wins as House removes pesticide provision from farm bill
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A bipartisan group of lawmakers in the House of Representatives moved Thursday to remove a controversial pesticide provision from the law that sets U.S. agriculture and nutrition policy after Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., threatened to “slaughter” the legislation if her measure does not pass on a ballot.
Lawmakers voted 280-142 to approve Luna’s amendment, which removed language in the farm bill that shielded pesticide manufacturers from legal liability.
The successful vote could be a sign of the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement’s growing influence among congressional Republicans who disagree on the issue. Prominent MAHA advocates applied public pressure on Republicans to support the amendment, arguing that failure to do so would be a betrayal of the MAHA movement.
73 Republicans supported Luna’s measure, while 142 GOP lawmakers rejected it.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, a Republican from Florida, speaks with members of the media outside a meeting of the House Republican Conference at the U.S. Capitol on September 3, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg)
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The provision that lawmakers are pushing would block lawsuits against pesticide companies for failing to disclose potential health risks as long as they comply with Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations on labeling. States and territories would be prohibited from issuing pesticide labeling guidance that differs from the EPA.
“I have a young son and the amount of articles I see about pesticides and herbicides showing up in children’s produce (including organic) is outrageous,” Luna, a pro-MAHA Republican, wrote on social media earlier this week. “On behalf of all off-duty moms and dads, I will not be bullied into supporting a bill that gives protection and immunity to companies responsible for giving cancer to children and adults.”
Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, policy chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, also endorsed Luna’s amendment, arguing that it would “protect Americans from dangerous pesticides.”
Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, speaks to reporters after a press conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on October 20, 2025, during the government shutdown. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
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But Republican critics argued that Luna’s amendment would increase costs for consumers if the pesticide provision was removed from the farm bill.
Rep. Austin Scott, R-Ga., said against Luna’s measure: “If the EPA says the label is fine, I don’t see why every state municipality should have another label that would increase the price for American consumers.”
“We are not talking about the pesticide in the jug because it has been misrepresented to American citizens and specifically to the MAHA movement,” Scott continued. “We are just talking about the label on the jug. There is no liability shield for the pesticide in the jug.
A farmer wearing protective clothing sprays pesticides on the field. (Andrew Holbrooke/Corbis via Getty Images)
House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn Thompson, R-Pa. also harshly criticized Luna’s measure.
“The arguments on the other side are pretty superficial and emotional,” Thompson told the House of Representatives. “They are not based on science.”
Democrats also broadly supported an effort to remove the pesticide provision from the bill.
“Simply put, this language puts chemical company profits ahead of the health of Americans,” Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine, said during House debate.
A woman holds a bottle of weedkiller Roundup, which contains glyphosate, in her garden in a staged scene. (Wolf von Dewitz/Painting Alliance)
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The floor battle over pesticide supplies comes as the Supreme Court hears oral arguments this week over whether pesticide manufacturers such as Bayer, which bought Monsanto in 2018, should be given legal preemption for failing to warn consumers that its weed killer product Roundup could cause cancer.
The Trump administration sparked controversy among MAHA advocates earlier this year by declaring domestic production of glyphosate, the main ingredient in Roundup, a national security priority. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., one of MAHA’s influential voices, publicly defended the move despite having railed against glyphosate for years.
Bayer has repeatedly maintained that its product is safe to use and has not been found to cause cancer.
