US Politics in Trump era Public date: 02.10.2020 20:59:01

Publisher: Common Dreams

Author:

3 Dec 2019

As Nation Transfixed by Impeachment, Trump Quietly Provides Offshore Drilling Industry ‘Sweetheart Giveaway’

Interior Secretary David Bernhardt was condemned Monday for a proposed policy shift on offshore drilling panned as a "sweetheart giveaway" for a former client.  The new extraction-encouraging proposal was announced last month in a report by the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), two agencies within the Interior Department and occurred, according to transparency group Western Values Project, "under the cloud of impeachment."
Interior Secretary David Bernhardt was condemned Monday for a proposed policy shift on offshore drilling panned as a...
Tags:
corruption, environment protection, oil companies, trump cabinet
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Publisher: Washington Post

Author:

23 Jul 2019

EPA’s watchdog is scrutinizing ethics practices of agency’s former air policy chief

A key architect of the Trump administration’s efforts to weaken federal climate rules is under scrutiny by a federal watchdog for his dealings with industry players who lobbied the government to ease carbon pollution limits. It is the third inquiry into whether Bill Wehrum, who headed the Environmental Protection Agency’s air policy division from November 2017 until last month, violated federal ethics rules.
A key architect of the Trump administration’s efforts to weaken federal climate rules is under scrutiny by a federal...
Tags:
campaign promises, climate change, drain the swamp, environment protection, ethics, regulations, trump cabinet
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Publisher: EcoWatch

Author:

29 Jun 2019

EPA Air Quality Chief Resigns Over Ethics Investigation

So little time, so much damage done. That's the legacy left by Bill Wehrum who spent only one and a half years as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) top air quality official before announcing that he will step down this weekend under the cloud of a federal ethics investigation over possible conflicts of interest. His resignation follows conflicting statement he made to Congress about his industry connections, according to Politico.
So little time, so much damage done. That's the legacy left by Bill Wehrum who spent only one and a half years as the...
Tags:
campaign promises, corruption, environment protection, trump cabinet
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Publisher: The Intercept

Author:

9 Feb 2019

Trump Quietly Planted a Top Koch Official Inside the E.P.A. | Vanity Fair

Of all the federal agencies that fall under Donald Trump’s purview, none embodies the administration’s unofficial mandate to do the exact opposite of its stated mission quite like the Environmental Protection Agency.
Of all the federal agencies that fall under Donald Trump’s purview, none embodies the administration’s unofficial...
Tags:
environment protection, extreme measures, koch brothers, trump cabinet
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Publisher: The Guardian

Author:

13 Nov 2018

Ryan Zinke and the environment: a tragedy in three acts

If Zinke deserves credit for one thing during his tenure as secretary, it’s for his acting skills, and he was in effect handed a brand new “script” when he took office as interior secretary. This script was written by his oil, gas and mining associates and their mouthpiece organizations. It was a script for a provocative new tragedy in three acts, and his job was to do as the script says.
If Zinke deserves credit for one thing during his tenure as secretary, it’s for his acting skills, and he was in...
Tags:
environment protection, governance, trump cabinet
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Publisher: NYTimes

Author:

6 Jul 2018

E.P.A. Chief Scott Pruitt Resigns Under a Cloud of Ethics Scandals

Scott Pruitt, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and architect of President Trump’s aggressive effort to rewrite the government’s rule book on environmental  regulations, resigned on Thursday in the face of numerous ethics investigations that doomed his tenure. Despite Mr. Pruitt’s efforts to nurture a close relationship with the president, Mr. Trump himself announced the resignation in a tweet sent from Air Force One. He thanked Mr. Pruitt for an “outstanding job” and said the agency’s deputy, Andrew Wheeler, a former coal lobbyist, would take over as the acting administrator on Monday.
Scott Pruitt, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and architect of President Trump’s...
Tags:
corruption, environment protection, ethics, governance, trump cabinet
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Publisher: The Intercept

Author:

4 May 2018

How Scott Pruitt Helped Arkansas Poultry Giants Pollute One of Oklahoma’s Prettiest Rivers

Scott Pruitt, the embattled head of the Environmental Protection Agency, took the side of poultry companies and other businesses in Arkansas in a dispute over the pollution of an ecologically sensitive and economically vital watershed, environmental groups say. While he was representing Oklahoma as its attorney general, Pruitt helped to slow the implementation of a plan, forged years ago by both states, to clean a  river in his home state.
Scott Pruitt, the embattled head of the Environmental Protection Agency, took the side of poultry companies and...
Tags:
environment protection, pollution, trump cabinet
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Publisher: The New Yorker

Author:

3 Apr 2018

Scott Pruitt’s Dirty Politics

Pruitt and his admirers call this approach “E.P.A. originalism”—a nod to the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, and his reading of the Constitution. The idea is that Pruitt is sticking to “traditional” priorities, such as cleaning up Superfund  sites and contaminated drinking-water supplies, rather than focussing on newer and broader environmental threats, such as climate change.
Pruitt and his admirers call this approach “E.P.A. originalism”—a nod to the late Supreme Court Justice...
Tags:
environment protection, governance, trump agenda, trump cabinet
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Publisher: NYTimes

Author:

31 Mar 2018

Scott Pruitt, E.P.A. Chief, Rented Residence From Wife of Energy Lobbyist

Scott Pruitt, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, rented a residence in Washington in 2017 that was partly owned by the wife of a top energy lobbyist whose firm, according to disclosure forms, conducted business before the E.P.A. that same year.
Scott Pruitt, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, rented a residence in Washington in 2017 that...
Tags:
corruption, drain the swamp, environment protection, ethics, trump cabinet
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Publisher: Washington Post

Author:

6 Mar 2018

Senior EPA press official has a side job as an outside media consultant

Two senior Environmental Protection Agency political appointees — including one who personally supervises every grant the agency awards to  or solicits from outside groups — got approval from the agency’s ethics office to continue to collect outside income while working for the Trump administration.
Two senior Environmental Protection Agency political appointees — including one who personally supervises...
Tags:
corruption, drain the swamp, environment protection, governance, republicans, trump cabinet
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Publisher: Washington Post

Author:

31 Dec 2017

How Scott Pruitt turned the EPA into one of Trump’s most powerful tools

Since 2010, the Environmental Protection Agency has been embroiled in an enforcement battle with a Michigan-based company accused of modifying the state’s largest coal-fired power plant without getting federal permits for a projected rise in pollution. On Dec. 7, as the Supreme Court was considering whether to hear the case, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt issued a memo that single-handedly reversed the agency’s position. No longer would the EPA be “second-guessing” DTE Energy’s emission projections.
Since 2010, the Environmental Protection Agency has been embroiled in an enforcement battle with a...
Tags:
environment protection, governance, trump agenda, trump cabinet
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Publisher: ThinkProgress

Author:

14 Oct 2017

Trump’s pick to run White House environmental office says more CO2 is good for humanity

President Donald Trump nominated Kathleen Hartnett White, a fringe player in the climate debate who promotes the idea that increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is good for humanity, to lead the White House Council on Environmental Quality on Thursday. Hartnett White, a senior fellow and director of the Armstrong Center for Energy and the Environment at the fossil-fuel funded Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF), has questioned the scientific consensus that human activities are the major driver of catastrophic climate change. She has described efforts to combat climate change as primarily an attack on the fossil fuel industry.
President Donald Trump nominated Kathleen Hartnett White, a fringe player in the climate debate who promotes the...
Tags:
environment protection, extreme measures, governance, trump cabinet
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Publisher: NYTimes

Author:

3 Oct 2017

E.P.A. Chief’s Calendar: A Stream of Industry Meetings and Trips Home

Since taking office in February, Mr. Trump’s E.P.A. chief has held back-to-back meetings, briefing sessions and speaking engagements almost daily with top corporate executives and lobbyists from all the major economic sectors that he regulates — and almost no meetings with  environmental groups or consumer or public health advocates, according to a 320-page accounting of his daily schedule from February through May, the most detailed look yet at what Mr. Pruitt has been up to since he took over the agency.
Since taking office in February, Mr. Trump’s E.P.A. chief has held...
Tags:
conflict of interest, drain the swamp, environment protection, governance, trump agenda, trump cabinet
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Publisher: ThinkProgress

Author:

30 Sep 2017

Perry proposes law to force Americans to buy dirtier, costlier power

To make his case, Perry has fabricated an economic threat to U.S. grid reliability from cheap renewables and then proposed a rule to account for the imaginary reliability benefit of other electricity sources — all the while ignoring the actual health and environmental costs of carbon pollution from burning coal that aren’t priced in to the market yet.
To make his case, Perry has fabricated an economic threat to U.S. grid reliability from cheap renewables and then...
Tags:
environment protection, extreme measures, trump agenda, trump cabinet
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Publisher: ThinkProgress

Author:

5 Sep 2017

Trump names climate science denier to run NASA – ThinkProgress

In a Friday night news dump, the White House announced that President Donald Trump Plans to nominate Rep. Jim Bridenstine (R-OK), a climate science denier to be administrator of NASA. Bridenstine is a politician without any scientific credentials, unlike previous NASA chiefs, and for that reason his nomination has already been criticized by both Florida’s senators Marco Rubio (R) and Bill Nelson (D), Politico reports. Rubio said, “I just think [his nomination] could be devastating for the space program.”
In a Friday night news dump, the White House announced that President Donald Trump Plans to nominate Rep. Jim...
Tags:
climate change, environment protection, extreme measures, trump agenda, trump cabinet
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Publisher: NYTimes

Author:

12 Aug 2017

Scott Pruitt Is Carrying Out His E.P.A. Agenda in Secret, Critics Say

Mr. Pruitt, according to the employees, who requested anonymity out of fear of losing their jobs, often makes important phone calls from other offices rather than use the phone in his office, and he is accompanied,  even at E.P.A. headquarters, by armed guards, the first head of the agency to ever request round-the-clock security. A former Oklahoma attorney general who built his career suing the E.P.A., and whose LinkedIn profile still describes him as “a leading advocate against the EPA’s activist agenda,” Mr. Pruitt has made it clear that he sees his mission to be  dismantling the agency’s policies — and even portions of the institution itself.
Mr. Pruitt, according to the employees, who requested anonymity out of fear of losing their jobs, often makes important...
Tags:
environment protection, extreme measures, republicans, trump agenda, trump cabinet
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Publisher: ThinkProgress

Author:

25 Jul 2017

Perry study backfires again: Draft praises efficiency standards he is stalling

A leaked draft study of the electric grid requested by Energy Secretary Rick Perry found that federal energy efficiency policies are in the process of saving U.S. consumers and businesses more than a half trillion dollars. Meanwhile, the new administration is halting energy efficiency policies and gutting funding for energy efficiency improvements for American homes. Perry’s department is currently being sued by 11 states for stalling efficiency mandates for air conditioners and other high-energy products.
A leaked draft study of the electric grid requested by Energy Secretary Rick Perry found that federal energy efficiency...
Tags:
competence, environment protection, extreme measures, governance, republicans, trump cabinet
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Publisher: Mother Jones

Author:

18 Jul 2017

While You Were Busy Watching Don Jr., You Missed Some Interesting Trump Administration Nominees

President Donald Trump is slowly working his way through nominating people for posts related to Western natural resources and the environment; several nominations came down this week. There are more than 1,200 White House appointees that must be vetted by Senate committee, then confirmed by a majority of the full Senate.
President Donald Trump is slowly working his way through nominating people for posts related to Western natural...
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environment protection, governance, trump agenda, trump cabinet
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Publisher: Washington Post

Author:

10 May 2017

EPA dismisses half of key board’s scientific advisers; Interior suspends more than 200 advisory panels

Both the Environmental Protection Agency and the Interior Department are  overhauling a slew of outside advisory boards that inform how their agencies assess the science underpinning federal policies, the first step in a broader effort by Republicans to change the way the federal government evaluates the scientific basis for its regulations.
Both the Environmental Protection Agency and the Interior Department are  overhauling a slew of outside...
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environment protection, extreme measures, republicans, trump cabinet
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Publisher: Washington Post

Author:

15 Apr 2017

Scott Pruitt calls for an ‘exit’ to the Paris accord, sharpening the Trump administration’s climate rift

President Trump’s top environment official called for an “exit” from the historic Paris agreement Thursday, the first time such a high-ranking administration official has so explicitly disavowed the agreement endorsed by nearly 200 countries to fight climate change.
President Trump’s top environment official called for an “exit” from...
Tags:
environment protection, global warming, governance, trump agenda, trump cabinet
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Publisher: The Intercept

Author:

6 Apr 2017

Koch Brothers’ Operatives Fill Top White House Positions, Ethics Forms Reveal

If the billionaire Koch brothers turn to the White House for favors, they will see many familiar faces. Newly disclosed ethics forms reveal that a significant number of senior Trump staffers were previously employed by the sprawling network of hard-right and libertarian advocacy groups financed and controlled by Charles and David Koch, the conservative duo hyper-focused on entrenching Republican power, eliminating taxes, and slashing environmental and labor regulations.
If the billionaire Koch brothers turn to the White House for favors, they will see many familiar faces. Newly...
Tags:
drain the swamp, environment protection, koch brothers, regulations, tax policy, trump advisers, trump cabinet, ultra right
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Publisher: BBC News

Author:

10 Mar 2017

EPA chief doubts carbon dioxide’s role in global warming

He told CNBC that measuring human impact on the climate was "very challenging" and there was "tremendous disagreement" about the issue. Mr Pruitt instead insisted that officials needed "to continue the debate" on the issue. His remarks contradict his own agency's findings on greenhouse gas emissions. 
He told CNBC that measuring human impact on the climate was "very challenging" and there was "tremendous...
Tags:
environment protection, trump agenda, trump cabinet
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Publisher: Spokesman

Author:

3 Mar 2017

Zinke rescinds Obama official’s phase-out of lead bullets, fishing tackle

HUNTING-FISHING -- Today, on his first day on duty, Department of the Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke (pronounced ZINK-ee) issued two secretarial orders. One withdraws a controversial order signed by an Obama administration official to phase out use of lead bullets and lead fishing tackle on federal wildlife refuges.
HUNTING-FISHING -- Today, on his first day on duty, Department of the Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke (pronounced ZINK-ee)...
Tags:
environment protection, trump agenda, trump cabinet, trumps america
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Publisher: Washington Post

Author:

23 Feb 2017

Thousands of emails detail EPA head’s close ties to fossil fuel industry

Oklahoma has turned over thousands of pages of emails between former attorney general Scott Pruitt’s office and the energy industry, meeting a  deadline set by a judge who ordered the documents’ release following more than two years of effort by an advocacy organization.
Oklahoma has turned over thousands of pages of emails between former attorney general Scott...
Tags:
emails, environment protection, oil companies, trump cabinet, trumps america
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