Our experts and analysts weigh in on the latest developments in the Trump administration.
September 15, 2020 3:40 PM EDT
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration just appointed a climate denier to an agency leadership position. I went on CNN’s Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer yesterday to explain why the appointment of Dr. David Legates is dangerous for NOAA, for the future of federal climate change leadership, and for the public. Here’s why this appointment is a reckless move. Read more >
September 3, 2020 2:03 PM EDT
In the US to date, more than 185,000 people have died due to COVID-19—many times in pain, unable to breathe, and separated from their families. Many of these deaths, which disproportionately affect Black and Brown communities, could have been prevented if governments had made different public policy choices. And yet at every stage of the pandemic, some federal and state governments have chosen to sideline science and policy choices based on science. Read more >
August 21, 2020 8:50 AM EDT
The Department of the Interior was dealt a serious blow earlier this month in its attempt to dismantle one of our most vital laws for protecting wildlife, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. A federal judge ruled that attempts by the agency to reinterpret the act to allow more bird deaths were unlawful, lacked any opportunity for public comment, and showed that “agency expertise is questionable at best.” Read more >
August 18, 2020 2:00 PM EDT
Pendley never should have been nominated in the first place. His myriad conflicts of interest and his very opposition to the mission of the agency he was nominated to lead should have disqualified him from the beginning. That makes it all the more troubling that the administration is illegally continuing Mr. Pendley as the effective acting administrator of the BLM despite withdrawing his nomination. Read more >
July 29, 2020 1:28 PM EDT
The allegation that park police misused their authority in violation of the first amendment and contributed to a possible slide toward autocracy makes me sick to my stomach. Read more >
