In the News

Chris Frey, former Assistant Administrator, EPA Office of Research and Development, co-authored an op-ed published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Recent reports suggest that the US administration plans to eliminate the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Office of Research and Development (ORD).

EPN was mentioned in Inside EPA. Current and former EPA employees, including several past administrators, are warning that the Trump administration’s proposal to reclassify thousands of federal workers to allow at-will firings will politicize the civil service, promote corruption, increase fears of retaliation and irreparably damage agency expertise.

EPN was mentioned in Inside EPA. State officials and other sources say EPA’s proposed fiscal year 2026 budget, which seeks to slash funding for state environmental and water infrastructure programs, highlights Trump administration plans to cut the federal environmental commitment, while profoundly changing the agency’s long-term partnership with states.

Jeremy Symons, Senior Advisor to EPN, was quoted in AP News.

EPN was mentioned in AP News. The Environmental Protection Agency under President Donald Trump is aiming to undo or revise more than 30 major environmental regulations, many of them written or updated by the Biden administration.

EPN was mentioned in WTXL Tallahassee. TCDC and local leaders host public forum to explain the grant loss, discuss the appeal, and rally community support.

Linda Birnbaum, former Director, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, and Tracey Woodruff, former EPA Senior Scientist and Policy Advisor, were featured on NHPR.

EPN was mentioned in Chemical and Engineering News. Proposed budget for fiscal year 2026 slashes funding for science, technology, and enforcement.

Stan Meiburg, former Acting Deputy Administrator, was quoted in The Hill. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is down more than 700 career staffers so far this year, the agency told The Hill.

– Amy Zimpfer wrote a letter to the editor featured in the Marin Independent Journal. For 40 years, I had the privilege of serving at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Region 9 headquarters in San Francisco.

Zealan Hoover, former Senior Adviser to the EPA Administrator and Director of Implementation, was quoted in Grist. Critics argue the projects losing funding aren’t “woke,” they’re essential.

Michelle Roos was quoted in The Houston Chronicle.

Janet McCabe, former EPA Deputy Administrator, was quoted in Mirror Indy. Residents want to know if the area’s industrial past is tied to Marion County health department study findings.

Matt Tejada, former Deputy Assistant Administrator, EPA Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights, was quoted in The Globe and Mail. Trump’s regulatory rollback is poised to unleash a wave of pollution North America hasn’t seen since the 1960s.

Joe Goffman, former Assistant Administrator, EPA Office of Air and Radiation, was quoted in Politico Pro. The agency’s expected justification for overturning the power plant rule could also absolve it from regulating other industries’ planet-warming emissions.

Rob Verchick, former Deputy Associate Administrator for Policy, was quoted in Bloomberg. When a series of deadly storms and tornadoes pummeled Arkansas in mid-March, downing power lines and tearing up homes, Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders asked the federal government for money to not only help repair the damage, but also boost the state’s defenses against future disasters.

Andy Miller, former Senior Science Advisor, EPA Office of Research and Development, was quoted in Chemical and Engineering News. Trump’s executive order gives political appointees power to enforce standards that scientists call unattainable.

Betsy Southerland, former Director, Science and Technology, EPA Office of Water, was quoted in The Cool Down. As time goes on, Americans have learned more about the chemicals being used in our environment and the products we use every day, and it’s become clear not all of them are safe. 

Dan Costa, former National Program Director, Air, Climate and Energy Research Program, EPA Office of Research and Development, was quoted in Nature. The US government is shutting down a state-of-the-art facility that has provided data to inform health and environment regulations for decades.

Zealan Hoover, former Senior Advisor to the Administrator and Director of Implementation, was quoted in WABE. Thomasville, Georgia, has a water problem: The system that handles and treats wastewater to make sure it’s safe is far out of date, posing serious health and environmental risks.

Matt Tejada, former Deputy Assistant Administrator, EPA Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights, was featured on an NPR segment. The Trump administration plans to shutter an EPA office that focuses on environmental justice issues. The repercussions are already being felt in communities in what’s known as Cancer Alley.

Chitra Kumar, former Director, Office of Policy, Partnerships and Program Development, EPA Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights, was quoted in MSNBC. It’s not yet hurricane season, and we already see Trump’s disinterest in disaster response.

Jay Benforado, former Chief Innovation Officer, EPA Office of Research and Development, and George Wyeth, former Attorney and Policy Analyst, EPA Office of General Counsel, were quoted in NPR. Community groups in Louisiana have filed a federal lawsuit alleging a state law that regulates air-pollution monitoring violates their constitutional rights.

Betsy Southerland, former Director, Science and Technology, EPA Office of Water, was featured on the radio segment Live Local & Progressive.