Environmental Protection Agency's future debated amid budget cuts
AP News • • nation
Key Points:
- EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin defended a Trump administration plan to cut the Environmental Protection Agency’s budget by half, arguing the agency can do more with less despite reduced staffing and funding.
- Zeldin’s proposal includes eliminating major climate programs, cutting support for state environmental projects, halting certain climate research, and rescinding Biden-era environmental justice grants, drawing strong criticism from Democrats.
- Democratic lawmakers accused the administration of abandoning the EPA’s mission to protect public health and the environment, labeling the budget plan as a denial of climate change and harmful to efforts against pollution.
- Zeldin clashed with Democrats during hearings, disputing data presented and emphasizing legal limits on the EPA’s regulatory authority following recent Supreme Court rulings.
- Republicans generally supported Zeldin’s approach, highlighting ongoing enforcement successes and framing the budget cuts as a necessary response to previous regulatory overreach under the Biden administration.
