A group of Congressional Democrats said they were denied entry to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) after attempting to meet with Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) officials and the agency’s administrator, former Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.).
Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), along with Reps. Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.) and Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.), tried to enter EPA’s headquarters in Washington on Thursday but were turned away.
“We were just denied entrance into the EPA after asking to meet with a DOGE representative. More to come,” Markey posted on X.
They said that several programs from the Inflation Reduction Act are not being distributed to grantees and warned that the potential reductions in funding could hamper the agency’s work of preserving clear water and air.
“And right now, Elon Musk wants to turn EPA into every polluter's ally – wants to take the environmental cops off the beat. That's what this is all about,” Markey said during the Thursday press conference outside the EPA. “And we're here today in order to make sure that we protect that right to clean water, to healthy communities, to clean air.”
“We just had a couple of simple questions for them,” the Massachusetts lawmakers added. “Are they still freezing EPA funding for all of the clean air and clean water programs in our country? Are they blocking the important work, which the EPA does on a daily basis, to protect the people in our country?”
Zeldin, who was sworn into the role just over a week ago, was in California on Thursday to assess recovery efforts after the devastating Los Angeles fires last month.
Some grantees said they were unable to access funds last week after Trump’s executive orders went into effect. Since then, others have been able to gain access, but lawmakers on Thursday contend that some program’s funds are still frozen.
Earlier this week, Democratic lawmakers were also denied access to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the agency the current administration has looked to fold under the State Department’s umbrella. Other Capitol Hill Democrats were not permitted to enter the Department of the Treasury. Both agencies have seen their headquarters being visited by DOGE officials.
“President Trump has made it clear, very clear that he cares about those polluters more than the bottom line for our public health,” Tonko said on Thursday.
The Hill has reached out to the EPA for comment.
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