5/20/19  //  Commentary

The EPA, like many other agencies, is using every tool in the toolbox to avoid implementing the law. This trend is leading many courts to not give EPA and other agencies the benefit of the doubt in litigation.

5/2/19  //  Commentary

This week on Versus Trump, Jason discusses some fascinating research about how the Trump Administration has fared in the courts with Bethany Davis Noll, the Litigation Director at the Institute for Policy Integrity. They discuss challenges to Trump's regulatory agenda, why the Administration is losing at a historic rate, what is slipping through the cracks, and what come next. Listen now!

4/4/19  //  Commentary

This week on Versus Trump, Jason and Easha discuss a recent decision reversing President Trump's attempt to de-protect Arctic Ocean waters and permit drilling in the Great White North. Listen now!

1/31/19  //  In-Depth Analysis

On this week's episode of Versus Trump, Jason, Easha, and Charlie discuss recent developments in a long-running case where young people claim that the federal government's inaction on climate change violates their right to live in a habitable world in the future. Listen now!

1/8/19  //  In-Depth Analysis

The EPA just issued an incredibly bizarre proposed rule about whether it is 'appropriate and necessary' to regulate power-plant emissions of mercury. What gives?

10/25/18  //  Quick Reactions

What happens next in a lawsuit arguing that the United States has failed to protect against the ravages of climate change?

1/28/18  //  Daily Update

The Environmental Protection Agency has proposed a unified national automobile emissions standard, which may preempt California's stricter standard. California is challenging the Interior Department's repeal of standards for fracking on federal land.

1/14/18  //  Daily Update

FERC unanimously rejects Energy Secretary Rick Perry’s proposal to support coal and nuclear power plants. The Trump Administration backs off of plans for new oil drilling off the Florida coast.

12/4/17  //  Daily Update

The EPA finalized a rule that will maintain the biofuels quota.

11/26/17  //  Daily Update

The Trump Administration's decision to allow imports of trophies from big game hunting was met with fierce backlash, including a lawsuit from environmental advocates.

11/6/17  //  Daily Update

The EPA is reducing transparency and increasing the influence of industry at the expense of scientists. The Trump Administration is planning to reconsider a ban on mining for uranium in the Grand Canyon put in place during the Obama administration.

10/31/17  //  Daily Update

Commentary continues on President Trump's nominees to important environmental positions in light of their many ties to regulated polluting industries. The Department of the Interior removed discussion of climate change from its strategic plan.

6/19/17  //  Quick Reactions

An important ruling against the Trump Administration's position on the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL).

3/24/17  //  Commentary

President Trump recently announced that EPA will reconsider fuel efficiency standards. But so long as California remains free to set its own, more protective standard, Trump's decision may not matter very much. And the law is squarely on California's side.

1/25/18  //  In-Depth Analysis

On a new episode of Versus Trump, Easha and Jason discuss several lawsuits filed over President Trump's recent Proclamation that substantially cuts the size of two National Monuments: Bears Ears National Monument and Grand Staircase-Escalante, both in Utah. Listen now!

6/2/17  //  Commentary

Debate over whether the world is better if we stay in or get out and the game-show-style interest that Trump (in typical Trumpian fashion) has generated regarding his BIG DECISION should not obscure two basic facts: (1) The Trump environmental policy is disastrous; and (2) when it comes to the environment and global warming especially, Trump is a mainstream Republican.

3/29/17  //  Commentary

As a result of Trump's tragic climate order, people will suffer, and some will die. Not only years from now, but also in the short term.

3/30/17  //  Commentary

The Trump Administration's recent reversal on the Dakota Access Pipeline can (and must) be carefully examined in court.

6/27/18  //  Commentary

Short Answer: It’s Not Good

12/5/17  //  Commentary

On Monday, President Trump announced that his administration was taking dramatic action to reduce the size of two national monuments in Utah. The President’s announcement is out of step with historical use of the Antiquities Act.

5/3/17  //  Quick Reactions

In an executive order last week, President Trump purported to rewrite the text of two of President Obama’s decisions that withdrew millions of acres of the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans from future oil and gas speculation. Today, a group of environmental organizations has argued in court that Trump can’t just pretend the past never happened.

4/26/17  //  Commentary

Just 100 days into the Trump Administration—the Administration that gave rise to the concept of #AlternativeFacts—there is reason to worry that facts don’t matter to the Justice Department now led by Trump’s Attorney General, Jeff Sessions.

5/18/17  //  Commentary

If the Trump Administration chooses to remain in the Paris Agreement, it will be fascinating to see how the administration participates in its implementation. Here's a guide to some of the key legal and political questions.

5/17/17  //  Commentary

Trump already has eviscerated U.S. climate policy. Leaving the Paris Agreement would thus do little harm, while remaining would provide Trump with a fig leaf to obfuscate the damage he is doing. From an environmentalist point of view, the U.S. might be better off if Trump withdraws.

3/16/17  //  Commentary

It is time for progressives to embrace federalism and to use Supreme Court precedents protecting states’ rights to fight against Trump administration policies

3/19/17  //  Commentary

Can EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt lawfully discard his agency's duty to regulate greenhouse gases? Probably not.

6/5/17  //  Commentary

President Donald Trump’s announcement that he will withdraw the U.S. from the Paris Agreement may have dramatic consequences for his administration—but not in the ways he might imagine.

9/20/18  //  In-Depth Analysis

On this week's episode of Versus Trump, Jason and Charlie speak with Earthjustice Vice President Drew Caputo to get an update on environmental litigation against the Trump Administration. Listen now!

5/31/17  //  Commentary

With the news that Trump will withdraw from the Paris Agreement, it's important to talk about how he may do so.

10/10/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

Put simply, the Pruitt EPA is issuing its proposed repeal order despite its own best analysis showing that repealing the Clean Power Plan is a very, very bad idea.

7/12/17  //  Commentary

A recent D.C. Circuit opinion vindicates the principle that while agencies may have discretion over how laws are enforced, they cannot use that enforcement discretion to cancel legal obligations altogether.

9/10/18  //  Commentary

Undoing existing rules governing mercury pollution would be both pointless and dangerous. It would also be illegal.

7/5/18  //  Quick Reactions

Pruitt’s departure is warranted and long-overdue. But given what likely lies ahead, it is hardly cause to breathe easy.

5/10/18  //  Commentary

On this week's episode of Versus Trump, Easha and Jason reveal their big announcement: we're doing our first ever live show: Saturday, June 9, in DC, as part of the ACS National Convention. After that excitement, they get into a handful of updates about cases about auto emissions, HUD programs, the ban on military service by transgender individuals, and more. Listen now!

6/8/17  //  Commentary

On a new episode of Versus Trump, Take Care's podcast, Easha, Jason, and Charlie discuss Congress's role and powers in investigations of the Executive. Then, Jason talks with Steven Wu, a Deputy Solicitor General in the Office of New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, about the case against Trump University, the active role of states in recent years, and other issues in which New York is adverse to the President. Listen now!

4/3/17  //  Commentary

The State Department's decision authorizing the Keystone XL pipeline raises a profound question about when courts can review agency action based in presidential power. The answer to that question has major implications for the rule of law.

3/27/17  //  Commentary

Loudly withdrawing from the Paris Agreement would deal the process a symbolic blow. But it’s hard to see the Trump Administration’s attack on the Clean Power Plan and increased fuel economy standards as anything other than a withdrawal in all but name

4/13/18  //  In-Depth Analysis

Can Scott Pruitt be stopped in court?

4/25/17  //  Commentary

The March for Science reminded us that cutting funding to science today harms generations to come. Yet there is also another, subtler way the Trump Administration threatens to impose future costs on young people: the way in which it calculates costs themselves in cost-benefit analyses essential to our administrative state.

5/17/17  //  Commentary

Today on Take Care, Professor Ann Carlson offers a provocative idea. She suggests that we should be rooting—alongside EPA administrator Scott Pruitt—for the Trump Administration to withdraw the United States from the Paris climate accords. Here’s a less provocative take: No, we shouldn’t.

5/25/17  //  Commentary

On a new episode of Versus Trump, Take Care's podcast, we discuss the status of G.G. v. Gloucester County School Board, a major case about transgender rights, and then speak with Patti Goldman of Earthjustice about an important lawsuit that her organization has filed.

4/18/17  //  Commentary

The Trump administration is engaging in climate denial by concealing information relevant to environmental policy.

8/31/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

Are there legal remedies if Trump refuses to officially accept the Climate Science Special Report?

5/7/17  //  Daily Update

President Trump continues to debate pulling out of the Paris Agreement. He has been sued for trying to undo two of President Obama’s decisions withdrawing millions of acres of the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans from future oil and gas speculation.

7/23/17  //  Daily Update

The administration unveiled its first regulatory agenda, including details of its planned repeal of the Clean Power Act and Clean Water Rule.

5/14/17  //  Daily Update

Uncertainty remains about the future of the United States' commitments under the Paris Climate Agreement. Debate over the status of twenty-seven National Monuments heated up as the comment period for the Interior Department's review opened.

7/16/17  //  Daily Update

While the D.C. Circuit blocked the Trump Administration's attempts to scrap Obama-era methane regulations, the EPA continues to put other protective regulations on the chopping block.

4/30/17  //  Daily Update

This week, the March for Science took place in cities around the world — the Trump Administration was the recipient of heavy criticism.

3/16/17  //  Daily Update

President Trump has already begun his assault on environmental regulations. Here are some useful analyses of the story thus far.

8/27/17  //  Daily Update

Climate change concerns led a federal court to reject proposed construction of a natural gas pipeline, but the EPA rejected a ban on a possibly dangerous pesticide. Changes may be coming to the National Parks system.

7/30/17  //  Daily Update

The Trump administration continues to attempt to erode the power of the EPA by proposing rollback of Obama-era regulations.

8/20/17  //  Daily Update

The EPA will roll back or rescind several Obama-era environmental policies. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt is aggressively and secretly pursuing his anti-regulatory agenda.

6/4/17  //  Daily Update

President Trump announced that he will withdraw the United States from the Paris climate accord.

4/23/17  //  Daily Update

The Trump Administration spent the week making moves to undo Obama-era environmental regulations while advocates have challenged the constitutionality of the Congressional Review Act.

7/9/17  //  Daily Update

The D.C. Circuit rejected the EPA's effort to delay the effective date of an Obama-era methane emissions rule. Commentary continued on the Administration's attempts to replace the Clean Water Rule.

4/9/17  //  Daily Update

President Trump has taken a lot of action dismantling Obama-era environmental regulations. Environmental groups have been just as active in filing suit in response.

3/26/17  //  Daily Update

The Trump administration is poised to end Obama-era environmental protections. Some argue the Environmental Protection Agency cannot lawfully gut climate change regulations. Plus we saw a glimpse into President Trump’s EPA appointees.

10/1/17  //  Daily Update

Questions remain over what would replace the Clean Power Plan. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt threatened to end funding for the DOJ's Environmental and Natural Resources Division.

10/21/17  //  Daily Update

The upcoming UN climate change discussions are likely to pose challenges for the United States, which left the Paris climate accord. National Park Service administrators and interest groups near Dinosaur National Monument are voicing concern about increased drilling in the area. Scott Pruitt, EPA Administrator, pledged to crack down on settlements with environmental groups that sue the agency

4/2/17  //  Daily Update

President Trump signed an order rolling back many Obama-era climate change policies. Take Care covered this executive order extensively.

4/16/17  //  Daily Update

The Trump administration continues to consider pulling out of the Paris climate change agreement. Budget cuts and a deregulatory agenda threaten long-running EPA programs.

6/25/17  //  Daily Update

Energy Secretary Rick Perry states that carbon dioxide emissions are not the "primary control knob" behind climate change, and environmental advocates brace for Perry to release a report undermining clean energy sources.

10/8/17  //  Daily Update

The administration intends to announce its proposed repeal of the Clean Power Plan. President Trump's nominees to key EPA positions continued to receive criticism for their connections to regulated industries.

6/11/17  //  Daily Update

The fight over the U.S. withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement will extend beyond the 2020 election and may create problems for the U.S. under international legal frameworks.

7/30/17  //  Daily Update

Commentary continues on the future of enforcement of the Clean Air Act and Obama-era environmental policies.

8/6/17  //  Daily Update

Sixteen states filed suit against the EPA over its delay implementing a rule on ozone pollution. DHS has waived several environmental laws to expedite potential construction of the proposed border wall.