Trump Admin Clears Pesticide at Center of Frog Gender Debate, MAHA Fumes

The Trump administration has cleared the herbicide atrazine-the pesticide at the center of the frog gender debate pushed by conspiracy theorist Alex Jones-of the risks asserted in previous research, sparking outrage among Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) supporters, who have long called for banning the chemical.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) finalized a court-ordered review of atrazine on Friday following a legal challenge by the Center for Biological Diversity, and its findings starkly contrast conclusions about the chemical put forward by the 2021 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).

Atrazine is behind Jones’ conspiracy theory that chemicals in U.S. water systems were causing frogs to become gay or transgender. While no research confirms a causation between the two, one study found that exposure to the chemical led to the complete feminization and chemical castration in one species of male frogs.

Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. previously called for a ban on the chemical, and MAHA supporters are now fuming over the review and what it could mean for atrazine use going forward, leaving Kennedy in the middle of another pesticide debate.

Newsweek has contacted HHS and FWS via email outside regular working hours for comment.

What Is Atrazine?

Atrazine is an herbicide widely used to kill weeds, mostly on farms. It is used on crops such as sugarcane, corn, pineapples, sorghum and macadamia nuts, and on evergreen tree farms and for evergreen forest regrowth.

However, despite its popular use in America, the chemical is banned in more than 60 countries, with studies finding links between exposure to the herbicide and birth defects, multiple cancers and fertility problems like low sperm quality and irregular menstrual cycles.

What Did Trump Administration Review Say About Atrazine?

In late 2025, the IARC determined that atrazine-the second-most widely used herbicide in the U.S.-was “probably carcinogenic to humans,” while in 2021, the EPA said that it harms more than 1,000 of the nation’s most endangered plants and animals.

However, FWS’ findings determined that atrazine does not pose an extinction risk to any threatened or endangered animals or plants.

“We found that the proposed registration that is being reviewed for atrazine is not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of the species in this consultation,” the review said.

It continued that while the FWS anticipates that for “many species, a small number of individuals are likely to experience reduced growth, reproduction, or food availability,” it does not anticipate “species-level adverse effects.”

The agency concluded that it believes “the registration of atrazine is not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of these species.”

On the matter of risk of habitat destruction, the FWS said it found “the proposed registration of atrazine is not likely to destroy or adversely modify any proposed or designated critical habitats.”

The FWS’ findings have sparked uproar among environmentalists and conservation groups. Nathan Donley, the Center for Biological Diversity's environmental health science director, said: “The science shows that atrazine should be banned here, just as it has been in dozens of other countries, but Trump officials keep shrugging off the danger to both wildlife and humans.

“Instead of taking the environmental and health risks of atrazine seriously, the Trump administration has once again done the pesticide industry's bidding, allowing this extraordinarily dangerous pesticide to continue poisoning our land and water for decades to come.”

Atrazine Frog Gender Debate

A 2010 study by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) found that 10 percent of the exposed genetic males to atrazine developed into fully functional females-able to breed with males and produce viable eggs.

It was thought this might have happened because the chemical is a potent endocrine disruptor, harmful even at low concentrations-the study researchers exposed the frogs to levels of atrazine below the concentrations found in surface and well water.

The study fueled Jones’ assertions that there were chemicals in America’s water that could change frogs’ gender and sexuality, a theory that took off in 2015.

However, the study’s findings have been widely disputed, with other studies finding endocrine disruption to a smaller degree, and scientists arguing that there is not a clear causal link between the two.

Another MAHA-MAGA Pesticide Debate

Following the release of the review, MAHA supporters took to X to voice their concern over the findings. Influential MAHA activist Alex Clark, who hosts a podcast for the conservative political group Turning Point USA, wrote on X: “We are running one of the largest uncontrolled chemical experiments in human history from an alleged ‘MAHA EPA’. We are being lied to.”

Vani Hari, another leading MAHA activist who has advised the Trump administration on food policy, wrote on the platform: “Atrazine is banned in over 60 countries because it’s linked to reproductive dysfunction, developmental issues, and probable cancer risks. The EPA just reversed a science determination in 2021 that the herbicide was likely to harm more than 1,000 protected species – saying now it poses no risk. WTF.”

It has once again put Kennedy in a tricky position. The health secretary previously called the safety of the chemical into question, and his MAHA campaign stands firmly against the use of pesticides generally.

However, the Trump administration has been increasingly looking to support farmers by allowing them greater access to pesticides in an “America-first” bid to secure the country’s domestic food supply. Kennedy was recently put in a similar position with the chemical glyphosate, the key ingredient in Roundup, the most widely used herbicide in the U.S.

Trump in February signed an executive order that would push for a greater supply of glyphosate-based herbicides, saying that the chemicals play “a critical role” in American farming and a lack of access to them would “critically jeopardize agricultural productivity” and the country’s food systems. Monsanto is facing billions in exposure for the potential carcinogenic side-effects associated with long-term exposure to glyphosate.

So the latest update could widen the growing gap between Trump’s MAGA and Kennedy’s MAHA campaigns as pesticide regulation becomes an increasingly divisive issue and Trump’s “America-first”-and industry first-initiatives clash with Kennedy’s bid to put America’s health first and reduce chemicals in the environment.

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This story was originally published May 21, 2026 at 6:27 AM.