US President Donald Trump speaks throughout a Black Historical past Month occasion within the East Room of the White Home in Washington, DC, on Feb. 18, 2026.
Saul Loeb | AFP | Getty Photos
President Donald Trump on Wednesday issued an govt order invoking the Protection Manufacturing Act to advertise the home manufacturing of phosphorus and the weedkiller glyphosate, which he mentioned is essential to each protection and meals safety.
Glyphosate is commonly focused by supporters of the Make America Wholesome Once more motion as a dangerous chemical. Trump aligned with the MAHA motion after Secretary of Well being and Human Providers Robert F. Kennedy Jr. dropped out of the 2024 election.
“I discover that making certain sturdy home elemental phosphorus mining and United States-based manufacturing of glyphosate-based herbicides is central to American financial and nationwide safety,” Trump mentioned within the order. “With out rapid Federal motion, the USA stays inadequately outfitted and susceptible.”
Glyphosate has lengthy been utilized in U.S. agriculture and has been the topic of controversy over alleged hyperlinks to most cancers. Bayer, the corporate that makes the glyphosate-based weedkiller Roundup, lately proposed paying $7.25 billion to settle lawsuits claiming the chemical causes most cancers.
Roundup merchandise are seen on the market at a retailer in San Rafael, California.
Josh Edelson | AFP | Getty Photos
Phosphorus, which can be coated within the order, is a precursor to the manufacturing of glyphosate and can be used within the manufacturing of sure navy tools.
The order would require Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins to concern orders and rules to implement the elevated provide of phosphorus and glyphosate.
A White Home Reality sheet on the chief order mentioned Trump signed it to “guarantee home manufacturing of elemental phosphorus and glyphosate-based herbicides, the lack of which might cripple essential provide chains.”
A scarcity of both chemical, the very fact sheet mentioned, might “depart our protection industrial base and meals provide susceptible to hostile international actors,” since there’s solely “one home producer of elemental phosphorus and glyphosate-based herbicides.”
Kennedy as soon as gained a virtually $290 million case towards Roundup producer Monsanto, which has since been purchased by Bayer, for a person who alleged he developed most cancers from utilizing the weedkiller.
Since being nominated as Trump’s HHS chief, nevertheless, he has softened his tone on the chemical.
“We can not take any step that may put a single farmer on this nation out of enterprise,” he mentioned throughout a listening to final yr. “There’s 1,000,000 farmers who depend on glyphosate.”
CNBC has reached out to HHS for remark.
Monsanto mentioned in an announcement to CNBC that the chief order “reinforces the essential want for U.S. farmers to have entry to important, domestically produced crop safety instruments similar to glyphosate.”
“We are going to adjust to this order to provide glyphosate and elemental phosphorus,” the corporate mentioned.