The incoming Trump administration is sparking fears that agencies tasked with protecting public health and the environment could suffer a “brain drain” — and that more pollution and other harms could occur as a result. |
© Allison Robbert/Pool via AP |
President-elect Trump and his team have vowed to use a tool called “Schedule F” to make it easier to fire career officials. In addition, Trump created a “Department of Government Efficiency” that aims to cut parts of the government that it deems wasteful.
Meanwhile, during the last Trump administration, the Bureau of Land Management’s headquarters were moved out of Washington, D.C. — causing a number of federal officials to leave their posts rather than move to Colorado. The New York Times has reported a similar move is being considered for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) this time around.
And Trump has chosen Russell Vought, who has said he wants to “shut down” EPA funding and put federal employees “in trauma,” for a key White House post.
The Trump-Vance transition team did not respond to questions from The Hill regarding its plans for agency headquarters.
However, Brian Hughes, a Trump-Vance transition spokesperson, said in a statement that the incoming administration “will have a place for people serving in government who are committed to defending the rights of the American people, putting America first, and ensuring the best use of working men and women’s tax dollars.”
Advocates worry that the array of Trump administration decisions could lead to employee departures that make the agencies weaker and less able to protect people.
“This is a science emergency. … We all need to be worried,” said Jennifer Jones, director of the Center for Science and Democracy at the Union of Concerned Scientists.
“Without federal scientists in place to do that daily work, you will not be able to trust that your medicine is safe, that the water is safe. I live in a hurricane zone — that there may not be scientists there collecting and doing the data analysis to make sure that I know a hurricane is coming,” Jones added.
Read more at TheHill.com. |
Welcome to The Hill’s Energy & Environment newsletter, we’re Rachel Frazin and Zack Budryk — keeping you up to speed on the policies impacting everything from oil and gas to new supply chains.
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