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 climate action in the states, federal funding cuts, Senate Cabinet confirmations, and more.
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“Your actions violate the law, attack our democracy, and undermine the safety of the American people.”
— A letter sent by House ranking members, led by Oversight and Government Reform Ranking Member Gerry Connolly (D-VA), on President Trump’s firing of at least a dozen inspectors general.
“By recklessly halting these funds, the administration is not just sowing chaos—it is actively hurting the very people it is supposed to serve.”
—Congressman Brendan F. Boyle (PA-02), Ranking Member of the House Budget Committee, on President Trump’s illegal freeze of all federal funding.
“It is extremely difficult to agree to a compromise on anything if the White House is going to assert that they control the funds and we don’t.”
— Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) on how Trump’s funding cuts are disrupting appropriations negotiations.
CALIFORNIA ENVIROVOTERS SPONSOR BILL TO SHIFT RESPONSIBILITY FOR HIGHER INSURANCE COSTS DUE TO CLIMATE CHANGE TO POLLUTERS: State Senator Scott Weiner introduced SB 222, the Affordable Insurance and Climate Recovery Act, on Monday. The bill, supported by LCV state affiliate California Environmental Voters, seeks to address rising insurance costs due to climate disasters by allowing both victims and insurance providers to sue fossil fuel companies responsible for driving the climate crisis for damages.
ENVIROVOTERS TAKE: California Environmental Voters Deputy Campaigns Director and LA resident Matt Abularach-Macias said, “Californians are enduring the devastating consequences of the fossil fuel industry’s pollution, devastating wildfires like those in Los Angeles, rising insurance costs, and communities pushed to their limits. The Affordable Insurance and Climate Recovery Act gives those harmed by climate disasters the tools to recover their losses directly from the corporations that have profited while fueling the crisis. It’s a step toward justice for families forced to rebuild their lives and long-overdue accountability for polluters who must take responsibility for the devastation they’ve caused.”
PENNSYLVANIA GOVERNOR ANNOUNCES PLAN TO FAST TRACK ENERGY PROJECTS, LOWER ENERGY COSTS: Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro laid out his six-part lightning plan to advance clean energy across the state, including proposals to streamline the energy permitting process, update state energy efficiency programs, increase incentives for clean energy investment and manufacturing, and codify targets for clean energy development. The plan aims to increase energy production to meet rising demand while lowering costs for Pennsylvanians and creating thousands of jobs.
CVPA TAKE: Conservation Voters of Pennsylvania Executive Director Molly Parzen said, “At a time when President Donald Trump is launching an all-out assault on the environment, Governor Shapiro is doubling down on a series of energy policies that will make Pennsylvania a growing leader in clean energy and the fight against climate change.
His core clean energy proposal, which would ensure Pennsylvania produces 35% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2035, would create jobs and lower energy costs while improving grid reliability. At the same time, Shapiro’s support of community solar and other community-driven clean energy programs would expand low-cost energy options for Pennsylvania families and businesses…We look forward to working with Governor Shapiro and the legislature on advancing these commonsense proposals even as we push for additional steps that lower costs and create jobs while giving working families more energy choices and combating climate change.”
Governor Shapiro also reached an agreement with the region’s electric grid operator, PJM Interconnection, to lower energy costs after filing a formal complaint against PJM to federal energy regulators in December. The agreement will save Pennsylvania consumers billions of dollars on their energy bills.
CVPA TAKE: Conservation Voters of Pennsylvania Political & Legislative Director Katie Blume said, “The PJM agreement is an excellent step toward affordable energy in PA and will save ratepayers hundreds of dollars. We still have more work to do to address rising electricity costs driven by greedy fossil fuel CEOs.”
ADVOCATES PRESS GEORGIA LAWMAKERS TO PROTECT CLIMATE PROGRESS: Georgia Conservation Voters (GCV) held a legislative advocacy day at the state capitol in support of 100% clean energy and calling on state leaders to continue to make climate progress in the face of federal attacks from the Trump administration. Since 2021, Georgia has had more investment in clean energy projects than any other state, with more than $32 billion dollars flowing in to support the growing industry. As President Trump halts federal funding from the Inflation Reduction Act, GCV and partners are pressing their state lawmakers to step up and lead.
GCV TAKE: Georgia Conservation Voters Executive Director Brionté McCorkle said, “This is a momentous time in history for energy. We have been making lots of progress reducing carbon emissions from the energy sector for many decades. What’s happening now is threatening to undo it all…Georgia is one of the top beneficiaries of the Inflation Reduction Act. It’s completely under attack. It’s really up to leadership here in the state to continue to protect progress we made, continue to protect the people of Georgia, and create safer, more affordable forms of energy.”
PRESIDENT TRUMP ISSUES MEMO CUTTING ALL FEDERAL FUNDING, CHAOS ENSUES: President Trump issued a memo ordering a total freeze on all federal grants, including funding from the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law as well as funding for programs that sustain communities across the country, like SNAP and WIC. Read statements from governors across the country who are part of the U.S. Climate Alliance Governors on the order.
OUR TAKE: LCV Senior Government Affairs Advocate David Shadburn said, “When Congress appropriates taxpayer money, the administration must spend it. Period. These actions 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. This dangerously broad overreach directed by Project 2025 is an extreme power grab meant to instill chaos and will cause very real harm to people in every state. If President Trump, Stephen Miller, and Russell Vought truly cared about the American people, they would maintain federal aid, grants and loans that serve our communities. This aid must remain in place to ensure continued access to clean air and drinking water, protections for the environment, and safeguards for the health and safety of our communities.”
Not even 48 hours later, following intense backlash from members of Congress and the public, the administration rescinded the memo. However, the funding cuts remain, as directed through President Trump’s executive orders.
OUR TAKE: LCV Senior Vice President of Government Affairs Tiernan Sittenfeld said, “Despite the chaos and confusion that has already caused damage, here is what we know: the American people rose up to push back against this dangerous, illegal, and harmful effort to cut essential programs that support working families and protect our environment. The immediate harm to people and communities across the country may be paused, but our fight must continue. As 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. They are still intent on confirming Russell Vought, the architect of this destructive and clearly unconstitutional policy even after having to rescind it in the face of massive public opposition and successful legal challenges. They are still focused on banning clean energy and cutting essential programs like clean water protections, disaster relief, and home heating assistance all to pay for tax cuts for billionaires. We will continue fighting back against Project 2025 and Trump’s dirty agenda at every step to ensure our families, communities and environment are safe from these attacks.”
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ORDERS REFERENCES TO CLIMATE CHANGE TO BE REMOVED FROM GOVERNMENT WEBSITES: The Trump administration has ordered agencies to censor their websites by removing mentions of climate change, environmental justice, and other key climate terms.
EPA HALTS DISTRIBUTION OF SOLAR FOR ALL GRANTS: EPA sent a letter informing recipients of grants under the Inflation Reduction Act’s Solar for All program that their grants had been paused indefinitely. The Solar for All grants, totalling approximately $7 billion, have already been obligated, meaning they cannot legally be rescinded unless the recipient does not hold up their end of the deal. The halt on solar grants is part of the Trump administration’s larger attempt to put an end to all actions related to implementation of the historic climate and infrastructure laws.
CHISPA TAKE: Chispa Senior Director Estefany Carrasco-González said, “The Trump administration’s decision to abruptly defund the Solar for All program is unconstitutional and unjust. This is a further attack on our communities, especially low-wealth communities, and to our nation. Solar for All funding was intended to support hundreds of thousands of low-income communities and families across the nation who were on their way to maximizing solar power and reducing climate pollution, making their communities healthier while lowering their monthly electricity bills. President Trump and his administration seem intent on further harming families and communities and making all our lives more difficult in every way and every state, just to enrich their billionaire oil and gas friends. His stated goal of improving our U.S. energy sources is in direct contrast to cutting Solar for All funding and will hurt us for years to come. Our leaders must demand this funding is released immediately to the communities it was already obligated to.”
ICYMI: LCV MEMO ON HOW TRUMP’S CABINET NOMINEES WILL CARRY OUT HIS DIRTY AGENDA AND PROJECT 2025: On the heels of President Trump firing over a dozen inspectors general, LCV released a memo detailing how Trump aims to create a government free of accountability that caters to Big Oil Billionaires, and how his Cabinet nominees will help him achieve that goal. We doubled down on the memo following Trump’s attempt to cut funding to congressionally approved federal programs, including a call for the Senate to reject all of his Cabinet nominees. Read the full memo for more.
OUR TAKE: LCV Vice President of Federal Policy Matthew Davis said, “On Inauguration Day, Trump set the tone for his presidency with his Day One enactment of a national ‘energy emergency’ that, by excluding clean energy, made it crystal clear that his administration is all-in to pad Big Oil Billionaire profits at the expense of our air, water, lands, climate, health, pocketbooks, and jobs. Despite agency officials being charged with working for the American people, Trump’s nominees have shown staunch loyalty to him and his anti-climate agenda. Throughout their hearings, it was evident they will follow President Trump in putting polluters over people, leaving our families, communities and environment at risk. In an effort to educate senators about the records of Trump’s nominees, last week we sent letters to senators urging them to oppose both Wright and Zeldin’s nominations to lead the Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency.
What Trump’s first week made clear is that he is moving quickly on his aggressive agenda, and these nominees are the people charged with enacting it.”
SENATE CONFIRMS LEE ZELDIN TO HEAD EPA: Lee Zeldin was approved to serve as EPA Administrator for the Trump administration by a 56-42 vote on the Senate floor on Wednesday. Zeldin holds an atrocious 14% lifetime score on LCV’s National Environmental Scorecard and has a history of opposing environmental action. His first action as EPA Administrator was to violate federal law by freezing all EPA funding. The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works sent a letter to the Administrator demanding answers on the unlawful funding freeze.
SENATE EPW TAKE: From the letter, “We write concerning troubling reports that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is attempting to claw back funds that have already been obligated to grant recipients. We believe that this is contrary to federal law.”
SENATE CONFIRMS DOUG BURGUM AS SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR: In a broadly bipartisan vote, the Senate confirmed former North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum to lead the Department of the Interior under President Trump. Earlier this week, LCV joined a coalition letter to senators urging them to oppose Burgum’s nomination.
COALITION TAKE: From the letter, “The American people treasure our public lands and waters. The Secretary of the Interior is responsible for stewarding our public lands and waters for their many uses – recreation, renewable energy development, wildlife conservation, and preservation of natural and cultural resources – not exploiting them. Instead, he has committed to following President Trump’s lead to the detriment of communities, our natural resources, and our climate.”
SENATE BUDGET COMMITTEE DEMOCRATS BOYCOTT RUSSELL VOUGHT CONFIRMATION VOTE: Democrats on the Senate Budget Committee boycotted the confirmation vote for Russell Vought to serve as Office of Budget and Management (OMB) Director. The senators were protesting the role Vought played in the release of the funding cut memo that threw the country into chaos earlier this week. Vought advanced through the committee with only Republican support, 11-0. Ahead of the floor vote on Vought’s confirmation, LCV sent a letter to senators urging them to oppose his nomination.
OUR TAKE: LCV President Gene Karpinski said, “We urge you to oppose the nomination of Russell Vought to be the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Russell Vought is the principal architect of the Project 2025 agenda to gut government programs that protect our environment and lower costs for working families in order to enrich their billionaire donors. He has a history of disregarding the law and Constitution and is a self-described Christian nationalist who seeks to do lasting damage to the government’s ability to help our communities, and must not be confirmed.”
SENATE COMMITTEES HOLDS CONFIRMATION HEARINGS FOR RFK JR. TO LEAD HHS: The U.S. Senate Finance Committee and the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions held confirmation hearings for Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an anti-science conspiracy theorist, to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.
OUR TAKE: LCV Healthy Communities Program Director Madeleine Foote said, “Today RFK Jr. reaffirmed that his focus on disproven conspiracy theories and misinformation makes him dangerous, unfit and unqualified to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. Despite Kennedy claiming to care deeply about public and environmental health, he has made it clear that he will carry out the most extreme parts of Trump’s agenda of corruption, deception, and putting corporate profits ahead of the needs of our families. Kennedy’s peddling of falsehoods and conspiracy theories about major public health issues today, like claiming that life-saving vaccines are not safe or necessary, is incredibly irresponsible and troubling, and sows chaos and confusion for anyone trying to safeguard their family. Now more than ever, we need the head of the agency that is charged with looking out for our health and safety to follow real science to protect our families, communities, and environment from harm. We urge the Senate to put public health above all else and oppose RFK Jr.”
SENATE COMMITTEE HOLDS CONFIRMATION HEARING FOR KASH PATEL TO SERVE AS FBI DIRECTOR: The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee held a confirmation hearing on President Trump’s nominee to lead the Federal Bureau of Intelligence (FBI), Kash Patel.
OUR TAKE: LCV Senior Director of Judiciary & Democracy Doug Lindner said, “Protecting our environment requires a free and stable democracy led by ethical public servants who pursue equal justice under law. Kash Patel’s testimony today confirmed his loyalty is to Donald Trump’s dangerous agenda, not to the people and the Constitution. It is clear Patel will use this office to threaten our civil rights and democracy and target political rivals, civil servants, and journalists. Even multiple Trump cabinet members have said he does not belong at the FBI. His history of election denial, conspiracy theories and disinformation, in addition to his many threats against political, media, and law enforcement figures demonstrate that he cannot be trusted to lead the nation’s most powerful law enforcement agency. An FBI Director who seeks political vengeance instead of justice threatens our freedoms and the foundations of our democracy — we urge the Senate to reject this dangerous and unqualified nominee.”
ON THE BLOG: As President Trump’s Cabinet picks make their way through the Senate confirmation process, we’re bringing you everything you need to know about the nominees and the departments they are set to lead.
ON OUR SOCIALS: Remember when Trump said he didn’t support Project 2025? Yeah, us either. This week, we’re breaking down the confusing, chaotic, and illegal moves from the administration that are straight out of the Project 2025 playbook and are harming our communities across the country.
FEBRUARY: Black History Month.
FEBRUARY 17: Presidents’ Day.
FEBRUARY 28: Ramadan begins at sunset.
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