"Trump’s Push to End DEI Sharply Impacts EPA’s Environmental Justice Office" Article Reflection No. 168 (1/17/2026)

Article: “Trump’s Push to End DEI Sharply Impacts EPA’s Environmental Justice Office”

Reflection:

In the Newsweek article “Trump’s Push to End DEI Sharply Impacts EPA’s Environmental Justice Office,” journalist Jeff Young discusses the impact of the Trump Administration’s approach to DEI on environmental justice. There is discussion about the extent of power that is given to Congress and the amount of power given to the Executive Branch, with some Democratic senators stating that it is illicit for the Trump Administration to do what it is currently doing as the Office of Energy Justice and Equity can only be eliminated through Congress’s actions. Under the current administration, the Justice40 page and the Environmental Justice section have been taken down from the White House website. 

This article stands out to me because it talks about information access, which is something that I believe is so imperative in order to make decisions whether they may be big or small. Any member of the public all deserve the right to help with influencing policymakers to make certain decisions, so it is a nonnegotiable that they—the public—should be able to access information that is credible and factual. I wonder if any lobbying efforts for informational access on the federal government level is being successful right now. Maybe negotiations with exchanged pros and cons (one side gaining something for a certain cost; the other side also gaining something for a certain cost) will allow for increased informational access?