In letters to multiple agencies, the focus is on how job reductions at E.P.A., Interior and other agencies would hurt President Trump’s “energy dominance” agenda.
President Trump’s “energy dominance” agenda will be undermined by steep cuts to federal agencies that are said to be planned by the Trump administration, scientists, lawmakers and energy executives warned on Monday.
Pleas from numerous quarters have streamed into the inboxes of cabinet secretaries, asking them to salvage various divisions of government agencies. Federal officials face a deadline today to present their plans for another round of mass firings, and agencies that address energy and the environment are expected to be hard hit.
Experts said cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency, Department of the Interior and the Department of Energy would most severely hurt efforts to tackle climate change. However, there is little expectation that those concerns would be heeded by Trump administration officials, who either deny or downplay the threat of global warming.
Instead, opponents of the job cuts are making arguments more in line with the Trump administration’s priorities by saying the cuts threaten nuclear energy, mineral production and expanding energy access.
At the Department of Energy, for example, some of the biggest losses are expected in places like the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations, which oversees several large projects, including a plan to build seven hydrogen hubs around the country. Another expected target is the Loan Program Office, which provides federal financing for clean energy.