©2025 League of Conservation Voters
Your weekly resource to learn what the environmental movement is saying about the news of the day and the political fight of our generation. This week, we’re covering court rulings requiring the release of frozen climate funds and the latest environmental attacks from the Trump administration.
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“The loss of the people who make up these programs will be felt immediately, and especially in the next major disaster.”
— Samantha Montano, assistant professor of emergency management at Massachusetts Maritime Academy, on DOGE’s cuts to the Americorps National Civilian Community Corps, a program which deploys volunteers to work on disaster relief efforts across the country.
“If they try to keep the parks fully opened this summer, visitors will die due to no or slow response to medical emergencies and incidents.”
— Rick Mossman, president of the board of the Association of National Park Rangers (ANPR), on staffing cuts in state and national parks.
“Despite severe weather/potentially destructive storms expected in Nebraska on Thursday evening, the NWS Omaha didn’t launch a morning weather balloon — because they couldn’t.”
– Matthew Cappucci, meteorologist on the impacts of cuts to programs and staffing at the National Weather Service
NATIVE VOTE WASHINGTON HOLDS DAY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTION: Native Vote Washington, NAYA Action Fund, and Native Action Network joined forces for the first ever Native Day of Action in Olympia, Washington. Nearly 50 advocates from across the state attended and spoke to legislators about the issues facing Native communities, including Medicaid coverage for traditional Native healthcare practices, rent stabilization, tuition waivers for Native elders, and Tribal sovereignty and Native history education in public schools.
NEW REPORT HIGHLIGHTS CONNECTICUT OFFSHORE WIND OPPORTUNITIES: The Connecticut Wind Collaborative released the nation’s first regional offshore wind supply chain study this week that details economic growth opportunities for the offshore wind industry in the state and provides recommendations to increase jobs and investment in the sector. The report highlights Connecticut’s potential for supporting the offshore wind industry in areas including manufacturing, ports and maritime assets, workforce development, and transmission. Connecticut LCV was one of the stakeholders consulted in the study.
FEDERAL JUDGE ORDERS RELEASE OF CLIMATE AND INFRASTRUCTURE FUNDING: Judge Mary McElroy, a Trump appointee, ruled that the Department of Energy, Interior, EPA, and other agencies must immediately release funding for climate and infrastructure programs that had been illegally frozen by the Trump administration.
FEDERAL JUDGE RULES GREEN BANK FUNDING FREEZE UNCONSTITUTIONAL: Judge Tanya Chutkan has unfrozen $14 billion for the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund — a “green bank” that finances clean energy projects — after the Trump administration baselessly claimed there was fraud within the program and froze its funding. While EPA has appealed the ruling, this is an important step in the right direction.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ROLLS BACK PROTECTIONS AGAINST AIR POLLUTION FROM POWER PLANTS: The Trump administration announced on Monday that they planned to rollback standards for mercury and other air toxics pollution from 68 coal-fired power plants.
OUR TAKE: LCV Vice President of Federal Policy and former EPA health scientist Matthew Davis said, “President Trump and Administrator Zeldin are attempting to poison our children and pollute our communities by letting coal-burning power plants off the hook for their toxic mercury pollution. Coal is the dirtiest form of electricity and is twice as expensive as most other sources including solar and wind, but Trump is again putting polluters over people and fulfilling his promises to his Big Polluter allies. Banning clean energy, the cheapest and fastest to deploy, and giving handouts to fossil fuel executives are central to the Trump administration’s polluter-first agenda that harms us all with higher energy and health costs.”
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ISSUES HALT ORDER FOR EMPIRE WIND ENERGY PROJECT: The Department of the Interior issued a memorandum directing the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) to use its authority to halt construction activities at Empire Wind 1 off Long Island, NY. Following the announcement, New York LCV joined Representative Dan Goldman (NY-10) for a presser at the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal to discuss the impacts of the stop work order on jobs and energy prices, and urge the administration to reconsider.
OUR TAKE: LCV Legislative Director David Shadburn said, “President Trump and his administration continue to base their decisions off conspiracy theories and ridiculous claims that are hurting everyday people. Clean energy projects, like Empire Wind 1, are the fastest, least expensive way to get more energy onto the grid. Halting this project will do nothing other than raise energy prices for working families and threaten thousands of good paying construction jobs. If the government cannot be trusted to keep its word honoring permits after thorough environmental reviews, it will have a chilling effect not just against clean energy but the entire business sector. The absolute last thing the country needs is a ban on clean affordable energy.”
NYLCV TAKE: New York LCV President Julie Tighe said, “Halting Empire Wind I is an attack on New York’s clean energy future and a gift to fossil fuel interests. With one move, the federal government is putting thousands of union jobs on the line, threatening the reliability of Long Island’s power grid, and turning its back on communities vulnerable to coastal erosion and pollution. This project would deliver clean power to half a million homes and boost local economies — scrapping it now is not just reckless, it’s indefensible. New Yorkers shouldn’t have to pay the price for political payback and backwards energy policies.”
FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION ENDS STATE EMISSIONS TRACKING REQUIREMENTS: The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) ended a rule that required states to track their greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles with the ultimate goal of reducing transportation emissions.
NEW LCV PRESIDENT PETE MAYSMITH TAKES THE REINS: Pete Maysmith officially took his new role as president of LCV on Tuesday. We are thrilled to have Pete as a leader as we continue to fight back against this administration and to protect investments in clean air, clean water, public health, and addressing the climate crisis.
OUR TAKE: LCV President Pete Maysmith said, “I first want to thank outgoing LCV President Gene Karpinski for being an amazing leader, mentor and friend. LCV and our network of state partners in the Conservation Voter Movement are in an incredibly strong position because of his decades of leadership.
I am so excited to get started even as we face the biggest challenges of our lifetimes. Speaking at the Hands Off! Rally in DC last weekend, I could feel the anger and frustration people are experiencing. From raising costs and killing jobs by banning clean energy, to rolling back dozens of clean air and water rules, to selling off public lands, President Trump’s actions are hurting people and entire communities across the country. The assaults on immigrants, civil rights and even the rule of law itself are shaking our country’s democracy. At the same time, I also felt the incredible energy and enthusiasm for fighting for something better. We don’t have to accept this cynical status quo.”
COALITION CALLS FOR FEDERAL FUNDING FOR ELECTIONS: A coalition of 56 organizations sent a letter to leadership of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees urging them to allocate $825 million for Election Security Grants for state and local election officials in the fiscal year 2026 budget. This funding would ensure the security and integrity of elections and the democratic process.
COALITION TAKE: From the letter, “There are few government responsibilities more vital in a democracy than the protection of the fundamental right to vote. And that right is under assault today, especially in communities of color. Just as each level of government in our federated system bears responsibility for protecting the right to vote, so, too, must each level of government contribute to financing the election infrastructure that makes that right real. As the House and the Senate negotiate the FY26 government funding bill, we strongly urge you to send $825 million in HAVA Election Security Grants to state and localities. Because the bulk of election administration happens at the local level in nearly every state, we further urge you to direct two-thirds of the grant funding to local election administrators.”
ON THE BLOG: Stay tuned for exciting upcoming content on The Power Source blog!
ON OUR SOCIALS: Things Trump is making worse: our energy bills, weather preparedness, life for endangered species, and more. Things he’s making stronger? Our determination to fight to protect people and the planet, and our camera roll.
APRIL 20: Easter.
APRIL 22: Earth Day.
APRIL 30: 100 days, 100 harms of the Trump administration.
MAY 1: May Day.
©2025 League of Conservation Voters