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The new U.S. administration of Donald Trump has banned employees at several federal agencies including the Environmental Protection Agency from speaking to the press, writing on social media or writing blog posts or articles as his administration seeks to crack down on critical voices against his anti-climate change policies.
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Sources told Reuters and other news agencies in the U.S. that employees at the EPA, the Interior Department, the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services have gotten directives from the White House seeking to limit how they communicate to the public.
EPA staff have also been asked not to publicize any talks, conferences, or webinars that have been planned for the next 60 days, one staffer, asking not to be named, told Reuters Tuesday.
He also confirmed that officials told the agency’s staff not to speak to reporters or publish any press releases or blog posts on social media. Sources from other departments also said that they had received similar orders.
All of the agencies affected by the actions have some input on issues concerning the environment and have been involved in various efforts related to climate change, including effects on natural resources and human health.
Sources also said that Trump ordered the EPA Monday to temporarily halt all contracts and grants pending a review. The EPA awards billions of dollars worth of grants and contracts every year to support programs around environmental testing, cleanups and research.
A leaked document by Axios news published Monday showed that the Trump administration might seek up to US$800 million cuts in grants and programs related to climate change while lifting restrictions on oil drilling and power plants.
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The moves have reinforced concerns that Trump, a climate change doubter, could seek to sideline scientific research which shows that carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels contributes to global warming, as well as the career staffers at the agencies that conduct much of this research.
Trump’s new team for the EPA is also packed with people from the energy industry lobby and pro-drilling think tanks, according to a list of the newly introduced 10-member team seen by Reuters.
The team has at least three former researchers from think tanks funded by the billionaire industrialist brothers Charles and David Koch and at least one former lobbyist for the mining industry.
Several members of the team have also publicly argued against U.S. efforts to combat climate change, a key function of the EPA under former President Barack Obama, Reuters said.
In another assault on the environment, Trump also signed Tuesday two executive orders reviving the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines. Both have been criticized by activists and researchers as dangerous for water sources where they are to be built as well as infringing on the Native American communities surrounding them.
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