By: Stephanie Reese, Director of Strategic Implementation and Justice, Moms Clean Air Force
Date: February 6, 2025
Event: Senator Ed Markey's EPA Protects Us All Press Conference
Just two weeks into Trump’s presidency, we are witnessing the dismantling of diversity, equity, inclusion, and environmental justice programs across our government and country. This is a dangerous step backward—one that strips away protections for communities already overburdened by the effects of pollution.
His campaign promises made it clear that this was his plan, and with astonishing speed and disregard, Trump and his team are delivering on the promises of Project 2025. This administration is rapidly unraveling years of progress, undermining policies that prioritize clean air, safe water, and climate action.
These rollbacks are racist and unjust. And they will have lasting consequences for people across the country—particularly in communities already suffering from disproportionate exposure to pollution and environmental hazards. This deliberate weakening of environmental protections signals a clear choice—polluters over people. Corporate profits over public health. Political interests over the well-being of our most vulnerable communities. I think about other parents, whose children have to attend schools close to hazardous waste sites—and as a mother, I understand the worry you feel every waking moment for the well-being of your children.
This isn't okay. Our families and communities deserve better.
We've already witnessed the rollbacks of the Inflation Reduction Act’s environmental justice provisions. This law was designed to invest in clean energy, reduce pollution, and address climate change in impacted communities. But this administration chose to actively gut its implementation by stalling critical funding.
The administration’s latest assault on fair and just protection for all communities from environmental harm is the closure of the Office of Environmental Justice—a vital part of EPA that protects communities disproportionately impacted by pollution. Without this office, important work will be left undone such as the completion of the distribution of $3 billion for environmental justice grants established by the Inflation Reduction Act. Critical public health and environmental protections will be diminished, our ability to track and measure environmental hazards will be severely compromised, essential resources will be stripped from local initiatives that combat pollution, improve public health, and build climate resilience.
These setbacks will deepen disparities, leaving the most vulnerable in our communities with fewer protections.
But we are not powerless. We must speak out—boldly. We must continue to hold our leaders accountable. We must push back on policies that put corporate profits over human lives. We must demand justice because every child, every family, and every community deserves clean air to breathe, clean water to drink, and a healthy environment to grow up in.