Kennedy says he knew about glyphosate executive order in advance

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime critic of the herbicide glyphosate, said Wednesday that he was given advance notice of President Donald Trump’s executive order to boost its production and made his disagreement known to the White House.

“I did know about the executive order, and I made my opinions about it clear to the administration,” he told reporters at a news conference. “But I also understand that this was, for [the administration], a national security issue.”

Kennedy has faced sharp blowback from longtime allies in his “Make America Healthy Again” movement over what they see as betrayal in the Trump administration’s embrace of chemicals they regard as carcinogens that should be kept out of the nation’s food supply.

The February executive order was the latest in a series of administration moves that clashed with MAHA demands, including reapprovals of toxic pesticides and an alliance with the maker of the glyphosate-based herbicide Roundup at the Supreme Court. It’s unclear whether the moves will cause the MAHA movement to break with Republicans, but it could make the midterm elections more difficult for some down-ballot GOP candidates who are counting on their support.