While White House Touts Deregulations, Critics Denounce 'Craven' Pro-Corporate Policies

Public interest groups spoke out Monday about a White House event at which Vice President Mike Pence touted the Trump administration’s deregulation efforts. President Donald Trump did not attend the “Cut the Red Tape” event due to the attack in Las Vegas, but the meeting went on as planned with the White House barring the press from the room.

The administration has demonstrated repeatedly since Trump took office in January that it aims to roll back safeguards put in place by the Obama administration in a number of areas. The president announced early in his term that he would offset any new regulation by scrapping two existing regulations. According to an analysis by Reuters, federal agencies have so far taken 25 deregulatory steps, affecting infrastructure projects, the environment, and workers in a wide variety of sectors.

“They’ve ignored the evidence and put the interests of industry lobbyists over public health and safety.”—Andrew Rosenberg, Union of Concerned Scientists

Regarding the climate, in addition to withdrawing from the Paris agreement on climate change, Trump has rolled back President Barack Obama’s Clean Power Plan, scrapped his rules limiting water pollution from coal-fired power plants, and reversed a policy banning national parks from selling bottled water.

The Union of Concerned Scientists released a statement on the need for environmental protections like the one Trump has been eliminating. “These critical safeguards were created based on the best available science and public input, but now they’re being quickly and carelessly deleted,” said Andrew Rosenberg of the group’s Center for Science and Democracy. “They’ve ignored the evidence and put the interests of industry lobbyists over public health and safety. These changes will put Americans at risk, yet the president and vice president see this as an opportunity to take a victory lap.”