Before we’d even had time to sift through all the horrors proposed in Trump’s skinny budget, the administration had a couple more fun surprises for us late last week.
During an interview on CNN’s New Day, everyone’s favorite climate-denying Senator Jim Inhofe said Trump’s proposed budget cuts to the EPA are “good for the American people” and added, “we ought to take all this stuff that comes out of the EPA that's brainwashing our kids.”
We’re not sure what information Inhofe thinks the EPA is using to “brainwash” children, unless he’s talking about EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt’s quickly debunked denial of the link between CO2 and climate change. In a separate interview with Politico, Inhofe did commend Pruitt’s “courage to stand up and tell the truth” about CO2 and climate change because “the science isn’t there.” Inhofe should talk to one of the many scientific groups that sent letters to Pruitt or released statements following his “courageous” statement.
But we’re confident that kids these days are smart enough to see through Pruitt’s hot air. As it’s been pointed out many times since the denial heard round the world, the EPA’s website still bears the scientific consensus on climate change. (At least, for now. If these budget cuts go through, who knows if the EPA will even have a website anymore.)
We also learned that Trump plans to install Andrew Wheeler, a coal lobbyist and former aide to the aforementioned Senator Snowball, as deputy chief of the EPA. Wheeler is registered as a lobbyist for Murray Energy, which is the nation’s largest privately owned coal company. At least Wheeler’s coal ties should compliment EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt’s oil and gas ties nicely. Though Trump recently signed an order banning lobbyists from working on issues on which they have recently lobbied, Wheeler could get a waiver from the administration allowing him to take this post. Drain on, Donald. Drain on.
This is all a bit bleak for a Monday morning, so we’ll leave you with this fantastic explanation for the skinny budget. If you need us, we’ll be the one carrying a canary around on our leathery, coal-dust-covered finger.
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