Donald Trump has apparently instructed the Environmental Protection Agency to stay out of the public eye until further notice. The EPA sent out an internal memo this week advising officials to keep a lid on it until they receive contrary instructions from the president.
EPA officials were advised not to send out any press releases, to abstain from social media, and to refrain from putting up any new website content. Additionally, the memo said that any media requests would first have to be screened.
The Washington Post reported that the EPA was also told that there would be no new grants for the time being:
The Trump administration has instructed officials at the Environmental Protection Agency to freeze its grants and contracts, a move that could affect everything from state-led climate research to localized efforts to improve air and water quality to environmental justice projects aimed at helping poor communities.
According to the Post, the EPA’s Office of Acquisition Management received an email within just a few hours of Trump’s inauguration.
“New EPA administration has asked that all contract and grant awards be temporarily suspended, effective immediately,” read the email. “Until we receive further clarification, which we hope to have soon, please construe this to include task orders and work assignments.”
Well, it looks like Trump is going to get right down to business. The EPA has been a force for Obama’s socialist agenda for the last eight years; there’s nothing the new president can do other than basically shut it down and rebuild its mission from the ground up. It has grown into one of the most destructive forces in the federal government. If it’s going to serve its intended role without killing the American economy, fine. But we can only imagine how much restructuring it will take to put the agency in that position.
Until then, they’ve been put on mute. That’s best for everyone.
