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ARTICLE · 10 FEBRUARY 2025

Trump Administration Rolling Back Consideration Of Environmental Justice In Federal Decision-Making

K&L Gates
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President Donald Trump issued a flurry of executive orders (EOs) in his first hours and days in office. The numerous EOs cover a range of topics, many of which impact environmental regulation and related areas.

United StatesEnvironment
Gail Conenello
Gail Conenello
Brian Montag
Brian Montag
Malory Pascarella
Malory Pascarella
Caitlin M. Sarpal
Caitlin M. Sarpal

President Donald Trump issued a flurry of executive orders (EOs) in his first hours and days in office. The numerous EOs cover a range of topics, many of which impact environmental regulation and related areas. While many of President Trump's EOs will be—and already are—facing litigation challenges, and others will require congressional approval prior to full implementation, the EOs nevertheless signal the intention and direction of the Trump administration in the environmental law realm and beyond. One key area at the center of these policy changes is the dismantling of environmental justice (EJ) initiatives and related policymaking. The Trump administration is widely gutting consideration of EJ in federal decision-making, primarily through EO: Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity and EO: Initial Rescissions of Harmful Executive Orders and Actions, as well as through rescinding a swath of prior EOs, including:

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