Moms Clean Air Force

Fighting for Our Kids' Health

Moms Against EPA’s Pollution Spree

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin Must Resign

Getting the strongest possible Environmental Protection Agency regulations for clean air across the finish line is core to our work at Moms Clean Air Force. We gather petition signatures, recruit volunteers to testify at public hearings, and hold meetings with EPA officials to ensure our children are protected from harmful pollutants, like soot, smog, and mercury.

Currently, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin is on a mind-boggling pollution spree, corrupting EPA’s mission—to protect human health and the environment.

This is why we are now demanding Zeldin resign.

SIGN THE PETITION

7 REASONS ZELDIN MUST RESIGN:

Zeldin has essentially declared war on clean air and climate stability. Month after month, his EPA has announced rollbacks of protections from the most dangerous air pollutants known to humankind, pollutants we breathe. He’s Making America Sick Again, not doing his job. Read our letter to the Senate and House committees about holding Zeldin accountable.

Within one short year, Zeldin has unleashed an aggressive campaign to let polluters get away with more pollution, which means:

More mercury from coal-fired power plants

Zeldin is determined to allow coal plants to spew more lethal mercury and heavy metals—damaging to babies’ and children’s brains—into our air, which then gets into our food, especially fish. Learn why no amount of mercury is safe and how Moms are fighting the rollback of the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards.

More soot, a killer

Zeldin has abandoned protecting people from soot, a lethal pollutant because it goes from our lungs to our bloodstreams, into our hearts and brains. It is even linked to creating the inflammation that cancer cells thrive on, plus asthma and cardiovascular disease. Here’s everything you need to know about soot pollution, including ways to push for stronger protections.

More toxic chemicals in our stuff

Industry-friendly Zeldin is trying to make it easier for thousands of toxic chemicals, like formaldehyde, linked to cancers and hormone disruption, to get into the stuff we use and live with in our homes every single day, from carpets to baby toys. Meanwhile cancer rates among young adults are growing. Learn more about the importance of chemical safety laws and how you can advocate to protect them.

More tailpipe pollution from trucks, buses, and cars

Zeldin has proposed to eliminate any U.S. limit on climate pollution from tailpipes ever adopted, reaching back more than 15 years, even though transportation is the largest source of planet-heating emissions in the country! Learn more about tailpipe pollution and how you can advocate for the strongest possible protections.

More plastics and petrochemical pollution

Earlier this year, Zeldin invited hundreds of the largest petrochemical facilities in the U.S. to apply for an automatic two-year free pass to pollute, and 50 passes were awarded. Find out how petrochemical pollution harms our health and how Moms are working to protect our families.

More climate pollution

Zeldin wants EPA to stop regulating and monitoring climate pollution, like carbon dioxide and methane, which will only ratchet up our temperatures, fuel floods and storms, and make our oceans more acidic. In addition to trying to cut the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program, he has proposed delaying path-breaking methane rules and rescinding the Endangerment Finding, the legal and scientific foundation of EPA’s responsibility to limit climate pollution. Get up to speed on why the Endangerment Finding is so important and how Moms are working to protect it.

More AI data center pollution

One of Zeldin’s key priorities is to make America the AI capital of the world. The oil and gas industry is cashing in to fuel the explosion of AI data centers across the country with more polluting gas turbines, backup diesel generators, and major gas power plant expansions. Learn more about AI, public health, and climate change and ways to advocate for stronger regulation of these facilities.

SIGN THE PETITION

ADDITIONAL ACTIONS:

These are additional actions President Trump, Administrator Zeldin, and a Trump-backed Congress have taken in an attempt to weaken EPA, the federal response to climate-fueled extreme weather, and our preparedness for climate chaos. See also our in-depth timeline of callous efforts to gut protections during the first 100 days of Trump’s administration.

  • Zeldin announced that he would relax Clean Air Act permitting requirements for AI data centers.
  • Trump administration announces “email exemptions” that would allow power plants, chemical plants, sterilizers, and other facilities to email the president for a free pass to release hazardous air pollutants. So far, 171 facilities have been issued exemptions.
  • Zeldin is working on a formal rulemaking effort to overturn the Endangerment Finding, the legal and scientific foundation of EPA’s ability to protect people in the U.S. from the greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming.
  • Trump signed an executive order attacking state climate laws, including laws in California, New York, and Vermont. Later, the administration also asked a judge to strike down Vermont’s landmark ‘climate Superfund’ law.
  • Trump signed an executive order attempting to reinvigorate the coal industry.
  • Congress scrapped the methane polluters fee.
  • Congress voted to overturn an EPA rule that protected communities from seven highly toxic air pollutants—a major shock. The resolution was signed into law by President Trump in June, making this the first time Congress has weakened protections under the Clean Air Act.
  • Congress passed a Congressional Review Act resolution to reverse the ban on trichloroethylene (TCE), a highly toxic chemical found in industrial solvents and degreasers, adhesives and coatings used for arts and crafts, and cleaning products like carpet stain removers.
  • Congress passed Congressional Review Act resolutions to undermine California’s Clean Cars and Clean Trucks waivers, which allow California and other states to set health-protective tailpipe emissions standards.
  • After the Trump administration announced its decision to "reconsider" the Good Neighbor smog rule, federal judges called off oral arguments in an ongoing legal battle about the rule, dealing it another blow.
  • EPA weakened implementation of a Clean Air Act program geared toward clamping down on pollution that contributes to hazy conditions and poor visibility in national parks and wilderness areas.
  • Trump released executive order ordering the Justice Department to repeal or amend regulations for EPA that rely on consideration of "disparate impacts," attacking a critical environmental justice tool.
  • EPA removed a Biden-era scientific integrity policy intended to limit political influence on the agency’s science work.
  • EPA proposed weakening protections against toxic chemicals, attempting to roll back amendments to TSCA that were finalized by the Biden administration.
  • EPA air chief Aaron Szabo announced a target date of February 2026 to roll back the stronger particle pollution standards finalized under the Biden administration.
  • EPA announced plans to weaken air quality protections for national parks.
  • EPA proposed to end the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program, which would stop requiring thousands of polluting facilities to report their climate pollution.
  • EPA proposed to weaken rules intended to phase out hydrofluorocarbons, which are potent greenhouse gases used in cooling and refrigeration technologies.
  • The Department of Energy announced plans to cancel over $7.5 billion in Biden-era awards for hundreds of energy projects, including awards that would have helped address methane leaks from oil and gas operations and funded clean energy initiatives.
  • EPA announced plans to stop legally defending the strengthened Biden-era soot standard, effectively rolling back the lifesaving standards.
  • EPA finalized a delay of the Biden-era methane rule, giving oil and gas producers more time to comply with a rule designed to address climate-heating methane pollution.
  • The Department of Energy scrapped a Biden-era “zero-emissions” building standard that would have helped to address climate change.
  • Trump announced plans to weaken Biden-era fuel economy standards that had been designed to encourage the adoption of electric cars.
  • EPA revised its safety assessment of formaldehyde, a known human carcinogen, nearly doubling the amount considered “safe” to inhale.
  • EPA opted not to increase consumer protections against phthalates, the hormone-disrupting chemicals found commonly in plastics.
  • Trump’s EPA finalized weak protections against dangerous air pollution from gas-burning power plants, including health-harming NOx.
  • EPA released a proposal to revoke parts of the Good Neighbor Rule, which holds polluters accountable for NOx and ozone pollution that travels across state lines.
  • The Trump administration announced plans to roll back vehicle mileage standards for heavy-duty pickup trucks and vans.
  • The Trump administration is delaying numerous proposals for solar and wind energy projects around the country, stalling clean energy as electricity demand grows.
  • A new report found that Trump’s EPA has drastically pulled back on holding polluters accountable.
  • EPA reapproved dicamba, an herbicide linked to cancer.
  • EPA missed a court-ordered deadline to tell states whether or not they’re in compliance with the strengthened 2024 soot standard—essentially refusing to tell Americans whether or not they’re breathing unhealthy air.
  • Trump signed an executive order directing the military to enter into power contracts with coal plants, potentially boosting coal plants that would have otherwise retired.

  • Trump said he wants to “get rid of FEMA.” He has fired hundreds of FEMA employees and ended FEMA's Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program, which helped communities prepare for natural disasters, as well as the Hazard Mitigation and Grant Program, which protected people and property from disasters. FEMA also removed requirements for local disaster plans to address climate impacts and risks to vulnerable communities.
  • The Government Accountability Office released a report expressing concern that the Trump administration’s staffing cuts to FEMA may weaken federal disaster response efforts.
  • Mass firings have happened at NOAA and the National Weather Service, and more than 1,000 NOAA staffers took early retirement after being offered a buyout, raising the number of staff reductions to more than 2,200 employees. The National Weather Service stopped translating products for non-English speakers, threatening the accessibility of life-saving emergency alerts.
  • Zeldin announced the cancellation of over 400 grants totaling $1.7 billion designed to reduce air and climate pollution and protect communities from extreme weather. He also canceled $20 billion in climate grants and more than 800 environmental justice grants.
  • The Trump administration shut off funding for climate adaptation centers whose work helped communities and ecosystems adapt to climate threats.
  • The Department of Homeland Security is expected to lay off 1,000 FEMA workers in January, which would further hamper the agency’s ability to prepare for disaster.

  • EPA suspended and placed on leave 144 federal scientists who signed a letter criticizing the agency’s anti-science actions since January.
  • Acting EPA Administrator James Payne fired all members of EPA’s Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee.
  • The Trump administration announced plans to close EPA's Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights. Zeldin directed the closure of all of EPA’s environmental justice offices. Trump EPA issues layoff noticed targeting hundreds of staffers in the Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights and Regional Environmental Justice.
  • Trump administration attacked the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), which requires agencies to consider community and environmental impacts of infrastructure projects.
  • Zeldin said he intends to cut EPA’s budget by 65%. One of the ways he will do this is by closing the Office of Research and Development. Another is by eliminating the office charged with setting standards for PFAS.
  • NIH ended funding to study the health impacts of climate change and canceled major infectious disease grants essential to future pandemic preparedness.
  • The CDC division responsible for asthma control and lead poisoning has been effectively eliminated.
  • Trump administration eliminated the State Department climate office, which worked on engaging other countries in cutting climate pollution.
  • National Science Foundation cancels over 1,000 research grants, including grants for research addressing climate change and biodiversity loss (cutting critical climate and biodiversity research).
  • EPA abolished the Clean Air Act Advisory Committee, a long-standing advisory panel that provided expert input on the agency’s efforts to address air pollution.
  • EPA announced plans to end its “Solar for All” program, a $7 billion initiative designed to help low-income households and communities access affordable cleaner energy.
  • EPA fired several employees who were openly critical of the Trump administration’s deregulatory actions, including policy shifts on climate change and science.
  • EPA cancels contracts with labor unions in alignment with a Trump executive order barring collective bargaining.
  • FEMA placed 36 employees on leave after they signed a letter expressing concern over the Trump administration’s cuts and policy changes to the agency.
  • EPA launched an agency-wide reorganization that would put key research functions under the oversight of Administrator Zeldin, raising fears of political interference impacting scientific integrity.
  • During the October 2025 government shutdown, the Trump administration furloughed and/or laid off thousands of workers from various government agencies, including thousands of EPA employees and employees at the Department of Energy working on climate-friendly energy sources.

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