Trump Conned MAHA, Unleashed Toxic Chemicals, Pollutants
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Trump administration embraced MAHA rhetoric and then succumbed to industry influence, crippled scientific research, and obstructed environmental regulations, according to a new report from Public Citizen.
In May 2025, the Trump administration published the MAHA Report, a “call to action” on declining American health – with a key section of the report addressing the dangers of pesticides, industrial pollutants, and emissions. Public Citizen’s latest report shows that for 20 of 21 environmental chemical substances that the MAHA report focused on, the administration has either moved toward loosening regulations that protect public health (nine chemicals), done nothing (ten chemicals), and endorsed one chemical’s use despite its links to cancer.
The Trump administration lifted limits on forever chemicals that are in the drinking water of most Americans; loosened regulation of particulate matter, tiny air-borne particles linked to respiratory and cardiovascular disease; and defended and endorsed the use of glyphosate, even as the manufacturer faces tens of thousands of lawsuits from farmers and gardeners with cancer.
The report also documents how, despite the MAHA Report’s warning about corporate lobbying and bias, the Trump administration staffed key regulatory posts at the EPA with former industry lobbyists and employees. Eight of the ten top leadership posts in the two EPA offices that most closely oversee chemical regulation were filled with people with industry ties. In addition, the EPA deputy administrator is an attorney who built his career defending companies the agency regulates.
“The MAHA Report reminded the American public of the dangers of toxic chemicals in our air and water,” said Peter Whoriskey, a research director for Public Citizen and author of the report. “It was described as a ‘call to action.’ But then the Trump administration either did nothing — or gave industry permission to pollute more.”
In March 2026, less than a year after publication, more than 30 MAHA leaders wrote to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin expressing their dismay at the appointment of chemical industry lobbyists as agency officials and numerous regulatory rollbacks.
Public Citizen’s report also found that while the MAHA Report promised to evaluate environmental dangers with “gold standard science,” the administration has short-changed government science efforts. It disbanded the EPA’s Office of Research and Development, which raised warnings about the dangers of formaldehyde, dioxins, and PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), commonly known as “forever chemicals.” The administration also abolished the EPA’s Clean Air Act Advisory Committee and appointed industry lobbyists and other officials to the Clear Air Scientific Advisory Committee.