Are you ready for more winning?
Are you ready for more joy?
While everyone was focused on the hearings of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard, Lee Zeldin was quietly confirmed and sworn in as the 17th Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Zeldin wasted no time in implementing President Donald J. Trump’s vision of a smaller government that works for the people and not against them.
Shortly after Zeldin was sworn in, over 1,100 EPA employees were warned they could face immediate termination.
An email, reviewed by The New York Times, was sent to staff members who were hired within the past year and have probationary status. Many of those employees were encouraged to join the E.P.A. under the Biden administration to rebuild the agency, which had been depleted during President Trump’s first term. Others are experienced federal workers who had taken new assignments within the agency.Many had been hired to work on programs that Congress created through two recent laws, doing things like helping communities replace lead pipes, remediating toxic sites and funding clean energy projects aimed at reducing the greenhouse gas emissions that are heating the planet.“As a probationary/trial period employee, the agency has the right to immediately terminate you,” the email states.Molly Vaseliou, an E.P.A. spokeswoman, said in a statement that “our goal is to be transparent.” She declined to answer questions about the email, though, including whether Lee Zeldin, the agency’s new administrator, intended to terminate employees and, if so, for what reason.
I would strongly urge those at the agency who wish to remain employed to review Trump’s policy statements and get a grounding in climate science rather than from climate alarmists.
Zeldin is also trying to stop the flood of monies from grants the agency was slated to provide, as he has proceeded with a funding freeze.
The Democratic Senators, supported by the beneficiaries of those grants, are upset.
Enjoy the sweet, sweet tears of the senators from my home state of California.
….U.S. Senators Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff (both D-Calif.) joined Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and all Democratic members of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee in demanding answers from newly confirmed Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin about the agency’s freezing of congressionally appropriated funds, including those that have already been obligated.“We write concerning troubling reports that the Environmental Protection Agency is attempting to claw back funds that have already been obligated to grant recipients. We believe that this is contrary to federal law,” wrote the Senators. “… Many of us have also been contacted by grantees in our states reporting that they no longer have access to the grant money that has been obligated to them.”“Federal law and regulations require that obligated funds be provided to grantees absent proof of misuse of funds,” continued the Senators. “We further note that the Solar for All program furthers several goals, all of which are part of EPA’s core mission, which you support. It is designed to help reduce carbon pollution, air pollutants, and household energy costs by financing community and rooftop solar in low-income communities. It will further help drive American manufacturing, boosting the economy and creating jobs.”
To round up this post, I will end with some thoughts from the National Wildlife Federation about Zeldin’s approach to “climate justice.”
Environmental and climate justice advocates face an uphill battle for the immediate future and what happens after that is really up in the air. During Trump’s first term, the EPA rolled back numerous regulations, arguing they hindered economic progress, something the President maintained when he announced his EPA appointment.As EPA Administrator, Zeldin will likely align with this approach, favoring market solutions and minimal regulatory intervention—with little emphasis on broader environmental and climate justice initiatives.
I am looking forward to many years of bringing more good news about the return of science, sanity, and reasonable risk assessment to our nation’s environmental and health policies.
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