Trump Executive Order Could Gut Health, Safety, Environmental Protections

WASHINGTON – President Trump today signed an executive order directing each administrative agency and department to designate a “regulatory reform officer” and to establish a “regulatory reform task force,” according to press reports. The order implements the administration’s plan to attack the process by which safety, health and environmental standards are set.

The following is a statement by Scott Slesinger, legislative director at the Natural Resources Defense Council:

“Don’t be fooled.  No matter how President Trump tries to dress it up, this order is a directive to kill the safeguards Americans depend on for clean air, drinkable water and safe food.”

NRDC, together with partner groups, brought a lawsuit on February 8 seeking to block an earlier executive order that would require agencies to repeal two existing regulations for each new regulation agencies put in place.

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The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 2 million members and online activists. Since 1970, our lawyers, scientists, and other environmental specialists have worked to protect the world's natural resources, public health, and the environment. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Bozeman, Montana, and Beijing. Visit us at www.nrdc.org and follow us on Twitter @NRDC.