{"id":618384,"date":"2025-12-07T17:54:15","date_gmt":"2025-12-07T17:54:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/618384\/"},"modified":"2025-12-07T17:54:15","modified_gmt":"2025-12-07T17:54:15","slug":"maha-v-maga-feud-grows-as-trump-epa-rolls-back-rules-on-toxic-chemicals-trump-administration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/618384\/","title":{"rendered":"Maha v Maga: feud grows as Trump EPA rolls back rules on toxic chemicals | Trump administration"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cMake America healthy again\u201d (Maha) movement leaders have put out a petition<\/a> calling for Donald Trump<\/a> to fire Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator Lee Zeldin, who, since being appointed in late January, has quickly moved to undo toxic chemical regulations and fast-track pesticide approvals.<\/p>\n

The petition represents the latest salvo in a growing Maha-Maga feud <\/a>over the Trump administration\u2019s policies around toxic chemicals and pesticides. Trump campaigned on cleaning up the nation\u2019s water and food supply, a priority for the Robert F Kennedy Jr<\/a>-led Maha movement that helped propel the US president to office.<\/p>\n

But the Trump administration<\/a> also has close ties to the chemical and pesticides industry. Maha leaders have voiced a litany of grievances with Zeldin and the EPA as it enacted policies that they say has put public health at risk and benefited the chemical industry.<\/p>\n

\u201cRather than supporting your initiative to \u2018Make America Healthy Again\u2019, which millions of Republicans<\/a> and independents alike embraced, Administrator Zeldin has prioritized the interests of chemical corporations over the wellbeing of American families and children,\u201d the petition reads.<\/p>\n

It was supported by about a dozen Maha influencers, including Zen Honeycutt, Kelly Ryerson, and Vani Hari.<\/p>\n

In a statement, an EPA spokesperson defended the agency, saying: \u201cAdministrator Zeldin has been working closely with President Trump and Secretary Kennedy to implement policies to Make America Healthy Again.\u201d<\/p>\n

The petition\u2019s aim is to get the president\u2019s attention, Ryerson told the Guardian. She said she has seen progress on toxic chemicals at other agencies, but not at the EPA, and she did not believe the president was aware of the situation.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hold hope that the president is still committed to making America healthy again,\u201d Ryerson said. \u201cI do think if he had the real story of why these things that Zeldin is doing are incredibly damaging to human health, then he would be sympathetic to that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ryerson and other Maha leaders pointed to a number of EPA and Zeldin actions with which they disagreed, among them proposed rules<\/a> that would reduce scrutiny<\/a> of new and existing chemicals. Throughout the year, the administration has appointed<\/a> four chemical industry executives to top positions at the agency\u2019s chemicals office.<\/p>\n

The EPA also recently announced that it would continue permitting the use<\/a> of dicamba, a toxic pesticide banned in many other countries. The agency also drew outrage<\/a> in recent weeks when it announced it would approve and propose more Pfas<\/a> \u201cforever chemicals\u201d to be used in pesticides.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the administration and industry are working to undo<\/a> some of the Pfas limits for drinking water put in place under Joe Biden.<\/p>\n

Ryerson also noted that Zeldin has repeatedly claimed criticism over the EPA\u2019s controversial moves are coming from the left, or are \u201cDem fake news\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn fact, they are also coming from within his own party,\u201d Ryerson added. The EPA has made similar statements to the Guardian.<\/p>\n

Hari, a Maha influencer<\/a>, told the Guardian that Zeldin could \u201cput an end to this\u201d by reversing a Biden-era EPA decision to change how it defines<\/a> Pfas. The type of Pfas used in pesticides are considered to be Pfas by most regulatory bodies and scientists around the world. However, the EPA in 2023 started considering on a \u201ccase by case\u201d basis whether a chemical, like those used in pesticides, are Pfas.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf Zeldin truly believes in Maha, then he would reverse that rule immediately, and show the country that he stands with families, not with corporations,\u201d Hari said.<\/p>\n

In its statement, the EPA attributed frustration with Zeldin to \u201ca significant amount of misinformation circulating that ignores or misrepresents the law, and the actual facts and history of regulatory decisions\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaha\u2019s long-term success depends on rigorous, transparent science,\u201d a spokesperson said.<\/p>\n

But some of the Maha figures are skeptical. The petition states that Zeldin\u2019s approach will lead to higher rates of chronic disease, higher medical costs, and \u201ctremendous strain\u201d on the healthcare system.<\/p>\n

\u201cZeldin\u2019s actions clearly demonstrate that his priorities are misaligned with the values of your administration and the American people,\u201d the petition\u2019s letter to Trump states.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor these reasons, we respectfully urge you to remove Lee Zeldin from his position as EPA administrator and appoint a leader who will genuinely defend public health and truly put America first,\u201d the petition language concludes.<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you for your attention and continued commitment to the health and prosperity of our nation.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cMake America healthy again\u201d (Maha) movement leaders have put out a petition calling for Donald Trump to fire…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":618385,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5311],"tags":[49,978,659],"class_list":{"0":"post-618384","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-united-states","8":"tag-united-states","9":"tag-us","10":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115679570341366445","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/618384","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=618384"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/618384\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/618385"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=618384"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=618384"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=618384"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}