Trump nominates pro-polluter lobbyist for Transportation Department deputy

President Trump has nominated Jeffrey Rosen for deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation, a lawyer with a long history of representing companies and industry groups with strong antiregulatory agendas. In private practice, Rosen represented the U.S. Chamber of Commerce when it challenged the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s tailpipe pollution rules and the finding that carbon emissions from automobiles endanger human health and welfare by contributing to climate change. Rosen also engaged in science-denying, foot-dragging behavior while serving as general counsel to the Office of Management and Budget. For instance, he asked multiple times for memoranda explaining how carbon dioxide molecules emitted from cars differ from those emitted from power plants. Spoiler alert: There is no difference. Rosen was only trying to limit federal agencies’ responsibility to curb carbon pollution since the Supreme Court had just defined carbon dioxide as a pollutant under the Clean Air Act. Rosen projects a general hostility to public safeguards and placing him in charge of day-to-day operations at the DOT would be disastrous for Americans. Under his regime, we’d face higher risks on the road and in the air as well as irrevocable harm to our natural environment.

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