President Donald Trump’s early executive actions have rescinded environmental justice initiatives dating back more than 30 years as a part of the US administration’s broader objective of eliminating considerations of race, ethnicity, and diversity from the federal government.
President Trump’s actions addressing environmental justice policies and practices are spread across multiple executive orders and include: (1) rescinding the Clinton-era EO 12898 that first directed federal agencies to identify and address disproportionate effects of programs, policies, and activities on minority and low-income populations; (2) rescinding the Biden-era Justice40 program that targeted funding to disadvantaged communities; and (3) making a variety of organizational and personnel changes.
As part of his executive order (EO) Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity, President Trump rescinded the Clinton-era EO 12898, Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations. The Clinton-era EO required all government agencies to integrate achieving environmental justice into their mission “to the greatest extent practicable.” This has resulted in the inclusion of environmental impact analyses in federal agency decision-making.
The Federal Highway Administration, for instance, advises its offices to explicitly consider potential effects on minority and low-income populations in selecting and implementing highway projects. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rulemakings have cited to the Clinton EO, including analyses of various rulemakings’ impact on disadvantaged communities. In addition to highlighting the environmental justice movement on the federal level, the Clinton EO also spurred states to adopt their own environmental justice regulatory and policy actions.
The Biden administration built on the Clinton EO, taking a whole-of-government approach and relying heavily on data and science in utilizing federal resources in a way that prioritized environmental justice. Biden’s EPA, for instance, strengthened enforcement of violations in areas historically burdened by pollution, engaged in more frequent communication with Tribal and underserved communities in the rulemaking process, and prioritized environmental justice in the grants process.
President Trump also rescinded Executive Order 14008, Tackling the Climate Crisis At Home and Abroad, the Biden administration’s Justice40 initiative. The Justice40 initiative sought to channel 40% of the benefits of federal climate and infrastructure investments to disadvantaged communities. The scope of the program was expansive, from cleanup of legacy pollution to workforce development to housing assistance. Programs prioritized under Justice40 included energy assistance programs for low-income households under the US Department of Health and Human Services, wildfire risk reduction under the US Forest Service, and disaster preparedness grants under the US Department of Homeland Security. More than $30 billion in funding has gone to over 500 programs under the Justice40 initiative as of 2022.
As a result of rescinding Executive Order 14008, the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool (CJEST) was also removed from operation. The CJEST was meant to further the Justice40 goals, helping federal agencies define “disadvantaged communities” by identifying communities marked by significant social, economic and environmental burdens. The tool used factors such as air quality, rate of educational attainment, projected agricultural loss and climate risk, but the tool did not use race or ethnicity as a factor. The CJEST is no longer available on any federal government website.
President Trump’s executive order Initial Rescissions of Harmful Executive Orders and Actions rescinded, among others, President Biden’s Executive Order 14096 to Advance Environmental Justice. This rescission, along with President Trump’s executive order Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Spending and Preferencing, effectively eliminates all offices and positions with environmental justice functions. The Ending Radical and Wasteful Spending order further instructs agency officials to take a closer look at any programs and positions that may have been renamed after the 2024 US election to preserve their essential environmental justice functions.
The order also calls for a list of all federal grant recipients who received funding to support environmental justice programs since the beginning of the Biden administration, and for the Office of Management and Budget to convene deputy agency heads monthly to evaluate the scope and cost of environmental justice programs in the federal government. This executive order, coupled with the pause in distribution of Inflation Reduction Act funds under the Unleashing American Energy executive order, ensures the halt of funding for climate and environmental justice programs.
The executive orders targeting environmental justice are aligned with the administration’s stated efforts to advance “merit-based” and “colorblind” policies at the federal level, including removal of considerations of race, ethnicity, and diversity in the implementation of federal environmental programs. These orders are likely to be followed by further actions at the agency level to reshape how EPA pursues its mission of protecting human health and the environment.
It is not yet clear, however, if the administration’s efforts to eliminate consideration of race, ethnicity, and diversity will preclude consideration of other factors historically considered by the agency, such as socioeconomic status and cumulative pollution impacts, in agency decision-making.
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