Posts by Ali Williams
A Bipartisan Senate Confirmed Doug Burgum—Their Job is Not Over
By: Laura M. Esquivel, Senior Legislative Representative Photo: Gage Skidmore / CC BY-SA 2.0 At the end of January, the U.S. Senate confirmed North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum to lead the Interior Department in a bipartisan vote. Compared to some of Trump’s more erratic picks for Cabinet positions, Burgum’s hearing seemed almost genteel, easily bantering…
Read MoreLee Zeldin is Now the Head of the EPA: Here’s How That Spells Disaster for Public Health and Communities
By: Ranjani Prabhakar, Healthy Communities Legislative Director Photo: Gage Skidmore / CC BY-SA 2.0 It should be common sense that the head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) believes in protecting the public from environmental harm, right? Sadly, that’s not the case with Lee Zeldin, President Trump’s recently confirmed Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency,…
Read MoreThe Fight for the Judiciary Continues, and We’re Ready for It
By: Coby Dolan, Legislative Director Let’s face it. Reading the news today can certainly be a downer. In just a short time, President Donald Trump used his executive authority to reverse some of President Joe Biden’s signature achievements—especially concerning the environment. But there’s one thing he can’t undo: Biden’s impact on the federal judiciary. Even…
Read MoreChris Wright is Poised to Be the Next Secretary of Energy Under the Trump Administration: Here’s What That Means for the Future of Climate Action
By: Meg Slattery, PhD, Staff Scientist Photo: Gage Skidmore / CC BY-SA 2.0 If you watched President Trump’s Energy Secretary nominee Chris Wright’s confirmation hearing, you might have been pleasantly surprised to hear several reasonable statements on climate change. In the typical back-and-forth with Senators, he repeatedly reaffirmed his belief in climate change with statements…
Read MoreJudges Shape So Much of Our Lives and Freedoms. This November, They May Be on Your Ballot
By: Yaheiry Mora, Political Director When voters in many states head to the polls this election season, they won’t just vote for President, Members of Congress, and local representatives. In many states, voters also elect justices to serve on their state supreme courts—the highest courts in each state. Why is this noteworthy? Over 95 percent…
Read MoreMeet Yaheiry Mora: Earthjustice Action’s New Political Director
Activist and advocate Yaheiry Mora brings over a decade of experience grounded in the labor and immigrant rights movement to Earthjustice Action. As the Founding Director of CASA in Action, the largest Immigrant Rights organization in the Mid-Atlantic region, she built CASA in Action’s electioneering and PAC infrastructure from the ground up while leading the…
Read MoreA Celebration of 2023 Judicial Confirmations and a Hopeful Outlook in 2024
Photo by: Nick Wolf | Earthjustice Action Blog by: Geoffrey Nolan | Earthjustice Action When President Biden first took office, he pledged to prioritize the nomination and confirmation of fair-minded, highly qualified judges to the federal judiciary. During the Trump Administration, the Republican-controlled Senate confirmed a record number of judges for lifetime appointments on the…
Read MoreIt’s Time for an Ethics Code for the Supreme Court
Photo by: Nick Wolf | Earthjustice Action Blog by: Geoff Nolan | Earthjustice Action It’s another day and another ethics scandal for the United States Supreme Court. Recently, ProPublica published a bombshell report detailing the ethical lapses of another justice sitting on the bench of our nation’s highest court. This time, Justice Samuel Alito failed…
Read More100 Days of Environmental Attacks Under the Republican-Controlled Congress
By: Geoffrey Nolan After 100 days of controlling the U.S. House of Representatives, House Republicans haven’t been shy about showing their cards. Whether it was Speaker Kevin McCarthy caving to a list of demands from the radical right to become Speaker of the House, or the seemingly endless investigations into Hunter Biden, social media companies,…
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