Trump looking to “reorganize” the EPA and other agencies

President Trump issued an executive order as a precursor to “reorganizing” the executive branch of government—or what critics call a concerted effort to dismantle or eliminate federal agencies. The administration’s rationale for reassessing and possibly restructuring the agencies is whether their role is better left to state and local governments; whether the administration deems their functions redundant; and whether the public benefits justify the costs. Among the agencies most threatened by this executive order is the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Already, EPA administrator Scott Pruitt supports the proposed deep cuts to the agency’s budget. Pruitt refuses to acknowledge the economic and social benefits of cutting pollution and denies that carbon pollution is the major cause of climate change. And he has identified with calls to eliminate the very agency he runs. Not only does eviscerating the EPA not bode well for clean air and water, but the executive order threatens other federal agencies that put public health and environmental protection before polluter profits.