A staffer with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has now taken on a key role at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), which President Trump has sought to reduce and reform despite its independent status. David Wright, whom Trump has renominated for a spot on the commission, told the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee that...
Author: The Hill
Watch live: Trump officials, GOP governors roll out agriculture security plan
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Brooke Rollins, Attorney General Pam Bondi and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth are set to announce a new National Farm Security Action Plan on Tuesday morning. The Trump administration officials will be joined by GOP Govs. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (Ark.), Jim Pillen (Neb.) and Bill Lee (Tenn.). The initiative, according to a press release from Pillen’s office, is to help protect American farms from...
Solar and wind excise tax dropped from Senate GOP megabill
Senate Republicans on Tuesday abandoned their effort to impose new taxes on solar and wind energy. Text released by the Senate Rules Committee no longer includes a new tax on solar and wind projects if some of their components come from China. The excise tax had been a last-minute addition to the bill and was made public over...
GOP leaders face internal pushback, doubts on ‘big beautiful bill’ vote
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) is moving full-speed ahead toward a planned vote this week on his chamber’s version of President Trump’s tax and spending bill, despite pushback from GOP colleagues and serious doubts about his prospects. Republicans say Thune and other Senate GOP leaders have told them the bill is on track for a vote before the July 4...
Colorado River ‘water market’ could bring security to farmers, fish and families: Study
Applying a market-based approach to Colorado River management could ensure more robust and reliable supplies for farmers, communities and the environment, a new study has found. Without considerable cutbacks in basin-wide water consumption, fish populations could face dire consequences for at least one month of the irrigation season, scientists warned in the study, published Friday...
Trump pulls out of Pacific Northwest salmon restoration agreement
President Trump pulled the U.S. out of a Biden-era agreement with several tribes that aimed to restore salmon in the Pacific Northwest. Trump, in a late Thursday memo, described the Biden administration’s agreement as an example of “radical environmentalism” and said his administration would instead prioritize power generation from hydroelectric dams in the region. The Biden-era agreement came...
Trump’s cuts to National Park Service rankle Republicans
President Trump’s proposed cuts to the National Park Service (NPS) are troubling some Republicans. The Trump administration has proposed a 30 percent cut to the park service’s operations and staffing budgets. In addition, the administration’s budget calls for transferring some park service sites to the states — a provision that is sparking particular ire from...
Senate Environment and Public Works panel releases ‘big, beautiful bill’ text
The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee released text for its portion of the Trump legislative agenda policy bill that Republicans are trying to get across the finish line, becoming the first Senate panel to do so. The committee’s text appears similar to provisions passed by the House. It’s not one of the committees that...
Solar panel arrays may help sustain grasslands during drought: Study
The placement of solar panels in Colorado’s grasslands could help decrease water stress and increase plant growth by about 20 percent during dry years, a new study has found. In these semi-arid areas, where grasslands often don’t get as much water as they need, the partial shading offered by solar systems can help plants get...