"Politico’s E&E News reviewed the steady dismantling of scientific and regulatory oversight functions happening largely under the radar."

"The Trump administration has squelched both external and internal oversight of EPA’s deregulatory agenda with moves that silence forums for critics, among other impacts, a review by POLITICO’s E&E News has found.

The erosion of scrutiny over the agency’s unparalleled and aggressive wave of environmental rollbacks has happened largely under the radar and with less fanfare than its blockbuster deregulatory announcements.

Take the firing of EPA’s in-house watchdog, along with ousting — and thus far not replacing — members of an advisory committee that has the authority to study the scientific basis for proposed rollbacks.

Outright abolished are other advisory panels that could have afforded critics a setting to publicly probe two of Administrator Lee Zeldin’s key objectives: a wholesale retreat from air pollution regulations strengthened during President Joe Biden’s term and the dismantling of EPA’s office to combat disproportionate pollution exposure under the umbrella of environmental justice."

Sean Reilly reports for E&E News January 28, 2026. [2]