Environmental Regulation and Enforcement

The Environmental Integrity Project reports that in 2025 the Trump administration’s EPA referred only 16 civil pollution cases for filing by the Justice Department, the lowest level of federal environmental enforcement in decades and far below Obama-, Biden- and even Trump‑term‑one levels. Based on court records, the group says DOJ‑filed actions on EPA’s behalf were 87% lower than in Obama’s second-term Year 1, 76% below Biden’s first year and 81% below Trump’s first year in 2017, while administrative penalties totaled about $41 million through September, down in real terms from the prior two administrations. EIP and former enforcement officials argue that with at least a third of DOJ environment‑division lawyers gone and the White House focused on deregulation, major air- and water‑pollution cases are simply not being brought, leaving communities more exposed to illegal contamination. EPA press secretary Brigit Hirsch rejects the analysis as "erroneous," saying the agency is focused on "swift compliance" rather than "overzealous enforcement" and promises its own data will show more total case closures in Trump’s first year than in Biden’s last, but does not dispute the sharp drop in DOJ lawsuits. The report lands as Administrator Lee Zeldin touts what he called in March 2025 "the most consequential day of deregulation in U.S. history" and as the administration continues to dismantle climate and pollution rules while industry celebrates lighter oversight and environmental groups warn enforcement has been hollowed out by design.