In a normal universe, like the one we inhabited until January 20, 2017, it would be considered a no-brainer to outlaw the use of a pesticide linked to neurological damage in children. That‘s why, in 2015, the Obama administration proposed to revoke all uses of chlorpyrifos, exposure to which studies had shown led to lower birth weight and reduced IQ, among a host of harmful effects. Then Trump became president and, well you can probably guess where this is going:

…before the ban was finalized, President Trump took office and reversed course.… In a notice to the Federal Register on Thursday, the Environmental Protection Agency wrote that “critical questions remained regarding the significance of the data” that suggests that chlorpyrifos causes neurological damage in young children. The agency said that the Obama administration’s decision to ban the product—used on more than 50 crops, including grapes, broccoli, and strawberries—was based on epidemiological studies rather than direct tests on animals, which have historically been used by the EPA to determine a pesticide’s safety. The EPA’s decision, which represented a win for industry, drew swift condemnation from groups that have pushed for years to remove the pesticide from the market.

Presumably, one of the groups extremely happy with the decision was Dow Chemical, which sells approximately 5 million pounds of chlorpyrifos in the U.S. each year, according to the Associated Press, and wasn’t about to let one of its biggest moneymakers get banned; in 2017, per the AP, Dow and two other companies that manufacture chlorpyrifos sent letters to the EPA, the Department of Commerce, and the Fish and Wildlife Service, asking them to “set aside” the results of studies indicating harmful effects, claiming that they were “fundamentally flawed.” They even hired scientists to “produce a lengthy rebuttal to the government studies.” Oh, and don’t forget that Dow donated $1 million to underwrite Trump’s inaugural festivities, though anyone even entertaining the idea that the seven-figure check was intended to grease the administration’s wheels should put a sock in it. Rachelle Schikorra, Dow’s director of public affairs, told the AP at the time that any such suggestion was “completely off the mark.”