FR: Tiernan Sittenfeld, SVP of Government Affairs, League of Conservation Voters
TO: Interested Parties
Re: MEMO: How Trump’s Actions Are Already Causing Harm

Trump has made it clear through Day One actions, subsequent executive orders, his billionaire cabinet, and his outsourcing of cruel chaos and illegal firings to Elon Musk that he is going to continue to threaten our clean air and water, democracy and livelihoods for the benefit of Big Oil and other Big Polluters. Now more than ever, we need to hold them accountable, build climate resilience, and protect our democracy. 

Healthy air and water and affordable clean energy initiatives are popular across the board, and people are speaking out, taking the administration to court, and states across the country are already fighting back in legislatures and governor’s office by announcing new plans and seeking “Trump-proof” climate goals that will protect bedrock environmental laws and support climate progress. As Trump continues to promote his aggressive, costly, harmful and dangerous agenda, here is what we expect him to highlight in his address. 

What We Expect

We expect Trump to continue lying about the state of energy and the climate crisis and threaten our democracy and civil liberties. In preparation for his address tonight, here are some key facts to remember as you follow along to his speech. 

Invent crises that only he can avert

• On Day One, Trump declared a sham “energy emergency,” yet he inherited a thriving clean energy economy with more than 400,000 new jobs and more cheaper and cleaner energy than ever before. 
• Despite hardworking families across the country benefiting from clean energy investments, through lowering costs on energy bills and creating high-paying jobs, Trump is determined to roll back these very initiatives that communities, including those in Red districts, support. Trump’s attacks on clean energy have already put at risk 42,000 jobs and over $57 billion in private investments.
• Trump’s billion dollar promise to Big Oil to “drill, baby, drill” will only increase costs, effectively sell off our lands to his campaign donors, harm our environment, put the health and safety of our communities at risk and result in job loss. 
• These actions have already hurt millions of people in every corner of the country, raising energy costs for working families, cutting good paying jobs, and polluting our communities.
• We cannot drill our way to lower prices at the pump–oil prices are set at the world market and frequently respond to increases in U.S. production with price hikes. And, increased methane gas exports, which Trump has rubberstamped, have already been raising prices on families dependent upon gas for heat, hot water, or cooking.  

Promote Weakening Environmental Protections 

• Poll after poll show that people want more, not less, protections and more accountability for polluters. Yet, last week, Trump and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin announced 65% budget cuts to the EPA. 
• Cutting two-thirds of country’s funding of environmental protections would mean fewer resources to go toward ensuring our communities have access to clean air and water, no cleanups of toxic waste or lead and PFAS in our drinking water, no clean electric buses to bring our children safely to school, among other essential resources and services. These cuts would take hundreds of environmental inspectors and cops off the beat, allowing big polluters free rein to harm our communities and environment, especially frontline communities, all to reward Trump’s donors.
• Weakening environmental protections as a whole will also speed up and increase more use of dirty sources of energy like oil, methane gas, and coal will have steep health care costs and even loss of life. 

Advocate to “drill, baby, drill” through our public lands and coasts 

• Attempts to revoke President Biden’s withdrawal of vulnerable areas of the ocean from future oil and gas leasing. 
• Trump has repeatedly put the profits of oil and mining CEO’s above any other considerations and will drive up costs for consumers – all at the expense of our treasured public lands and waters.

Assert that the government is “bloated” 

• Trump has launched an attack on government agencies by cuts to federal spending, critical staff, and whole agencies.
• This dangerously broad overreach directed by Project 2025 and unelected Elon is an extreme power grab meant to instill chaos and will cause very real harm to people in every state.
• These actions to cut government funding will not only immediately harm families and communities, making lives harder and more expensive, but also go against the very foundations of our government where Congress has the power of the purse.
• Firing federal employees who play a crucial role in ensuring essential services and resources like air monitoring, drinking water safety, toxic waste cleanup, disaster response, wildfire management, Medicaid, reproductive health, WIC, SNAP is unpopular and puts people’s health and safety at risk. 

Attacks on Democracy and Civil Liberties

• From Day One of his presidency Trump has demonstrated his determination to implement Project 2025 with clear and dangerous overreaches of power that threaten our democracy on a daily basis. 
• Trump’s inhumane executive orders targeting immigrants for political gain harms the privacy, language access, and fundamental civil liberties of communities across the country, regardless of their citizenship or immigration status.
• Trump has continued to threaten members of Congress and weaponize law enforcement and the military against political opponents. 
• The White House has already made clear, they will only continue to attempt to cut essential programs that help people, lower costs, and create jobs. They will continue to push through more extreme actions that only look out for their ultra wealthy allies, while working families suffer the consequences.

###