Bayer Glyphosate Fight Escalates As Republicans and Democrat Lawmakers Accuse EPA Of Helping Shield Roundup Maker

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez confronted EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin over Bayer-Monsanto and glyphosate, adding new pressure to a fast-moving fight already unfolding at the Supreme Court and in Congress over whether the maker of Roundup should be shielded from lawsuits.

The New York Democrat said during a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing that she had asked Zeldin whether he had met with Bayer or Monsanto about the company's legal issues tied to glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup. According to a transcript released by her office, Zeldin first answered, "No, I never did," then said, "My meeting with them was very brief and that topic did not come up."

Ocasio-Cortez then said she was submitting EPA visitor logs and internal agency emails obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request. She said the documents showed Bayer's CEO, a vice president, and a lobbyist meeting with Zeldin's EPA before the company's executive order and Supreme Court filing. She told Zeldin the emails said Bayer planned to bring up "legal/judicial issues," including "Supreme Court action" and EPA's regulatory review and thanks related to the EPA glyphosate webpage.

"This glyphosate update that they're referring to seems to be correlated to the EPA agency withdrawing its support for California's cancer warning on glyphosate," Ocasio-Cortez said. "Do you understand the conflict of interest that is before the American people right now, Mr. Secretary?"

The exchange came one day after the Supreme Court heard Bayer's bid this week to shut down thousands of Roundup lawsuits. The company is asking the justices to rule that federal pesticide law blocks state failure-to-warn claims from people who say Roundup exposure caused cancer. Reuters reported that the case stems from a $1.25 million Missouri verdict for John Durnell, who said he developed non-Hodgkin lymphoma after years of exposure to glyphosate. Bayer argues EPA-approved labeling should preempt state lawsuits.

Bayer's lawyer, Paul Clement, told the court that "a Missouri jury imposed a cancer-warning requirement that EPA does not require." He warned that allowing state lawsuits would create "crippling liability" and undermine farmers who rely on federally registered pesticides.

The Trump administration sided with Bayer in the Supreme Court case, according to Reuters. Justice Department lawyer Sarah Harris argued that different warning standards across states would undermine uniform federal labeling, while Chief Justice John Roberts questioned whether states should have a way to alert the public if new evidence of harm emerges before federal regulators act.

The political backlash has crossed party lines. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., has urged Americans to call lawmakers and demand that Congress remove glyphosate immunity language from the Farm Bill. "Americans need to know: our government is under siege by lobbyists for the German company Bayer," Massie said in a statement with Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine. He said Bayer had spent more than $9 million lobbying for liability exemptions tied to chemicals "like glyphosate."

Pingree and Massie are backing the Protect Our Health Amendment, which they say would remove Farm Bill language that could shield chemical manufacturers from lawsuits and preempt state and local pesticide warnings or usage rules. "If a company's product makes people sick, that company should be held accountable," Pingree said.

The fight has also energized "Make America Healthy Again" activists. Reuters reported that several hundred demonstrators rallied outside the Supreme Court on Monday against Bayer, chanting under the banner "The People vs. Poison." Vani Hari, a MAHA activist, told Reuters, "You cannot make America healthy again and protect the corporations that are poisoning us."

Bayer has defended its position, saying the Supreme Court review is an opportunity to establish that companies should not be punished under state law for complying with federal labeling rules. Bayer CEO Bill Anderson said in January that the case was "good news for U.S. farmers" and that "every leading regulator worldwide has concluded that glyphosate-based herbicides can be used safely."

The stakes are enormous. Reuters reported that more than 100,000 plaintiffs have filed Roundup-related lawsuits in state and federal courts. Bayer, which acquired Monsanto in 2018, has proposed a $7.25 billion settlement to resolve tens of thousands of current and future claims, but the Supreme Court case could determine whether many failure-to-warn suits survive. A ruling is expected by the end of June.