The nation’s main office for protecting Americans from harmful chemicals is welcoming its fourth prominent industry insider since President Trump took office, adding to an administration full of former lobbyists and corporate executives who are making environmental policy.
A review of documents and federal moves show the Trump administration has acted on most of a 29-item list of environmental policy requests from industry groups in its first eight months in office. The changes affected rules on air pollution, chemical safety and water protections.
Top regulatory officials met with agricultural and chemical industry representatives dozens of times in the first few months after President Donald Trump took office in January, government records show — meetings that were followed by a series of regulatory rollbacks and a downplaying of pesticide concerns by the administration’s “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) Commission.
By Shannon Kelleher
Chemical industry advocates have spent more than $110 million in recent years on lobbying efforts that included opposing laws designed to reduce the use of, and exposure to, a group of toxic chemicals known as PFAS, according to a new study.