New Trump budget ignores climate change, guts the EPA and clean energy research

In yet another harsh blow to the environment, Trump released his fiscal 2019 budget, which proposes a 23 percent spending cut—and 2,000 fewer jobs—at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. It scrubs climate change from the agenda altogether, funds oil and coal production at the expense of clean energy, skimps on scientific research, and abandons key global climate change initiatives. Dozens of programs were cut or drastically defunded, including grants for water infrastructure projects on indigenous lands and restoration efforts in the Great Lakes and Chesapeake Bay. As in the $200 billion infrastructure plan released the same day, Trump also wants to fast-track environmental reviews. But the spending proposal is just that—a proposal; the final budget will emerge only after heated debate in Congress, where many of Trump's plans are likely to encounter stiff opposition.