Trump’s PR Stunt Disguised as Water Policy
“I am done. I am not going to help them destroy stuff.” – Jacob Malcom, former Interior Department official.
Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) just pulled off a classic bait-and-switch in California, taking credit for water deliveries that were already scheduled to resume. FOIA records reveal the real story: DOGE officials, led by a right-wing energy CEO, used a routine maintenance restart as a victory lap — while mass firings hollow out the agency actually responsible for managing water.
Staff at DOI “are in fear for their jobs, keeping their homes, feeding their kids,” said one employee. Meanwhile, billionaires like Trump, Elon Musk, and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum are waging war on civil servants.
Read the full investigation from Public Domain.
Trump is Slashing Water Jobs, Endangering California
The Trump administration is gutting the Bureau of Reclamation, axing staff at the federal agency that operates California’s critical dams and water infrastructure. The cuts — pushed by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) — could wipe out nearly half the workforce, threatening water deliveries and public safety, and exacerbating flooding risks to agriculture in the Sacramento region, the Delta, and the San Joaquin Valley. “The flood control element of public safety and the disruption to the nation’s food supply should be considered,” said Jim Peifer, the State Water Authority’s executive director.
Water agencies across the state are sounding the alarm: firing engineers, maintenance workers, and biologists who manage aging infrastructure is a recipe for disaster. The agency’s own regional director is taking a buyout, joining a mass exodus of expertise.“It’s going to significantly impact our operations,” said one employee.
As California faces extreme droughts and floods, the administration is playing political games with the state’s water lifeline.Restore the Delta commented, “With USBR gutted and under control of DOGE, Californians are left exposed to greater risk of flood, and ruined water quality in the SF Bay-Delta with over pumping. They do not care if we die, become ill, or are ruined economically. And the environment at the intersection of land and water will be trashed.”
Read more from Ian James at the LA Times.
Supreme Court Guts Clean Water Protections
The Supreme Court’s conservative majority just made it easier for polluters to dodge responsibility, ruling 5-4 to limit the EPA’s power over stormwater pollution. The decision, in San Francisco v. EPA, weakens the Clean Water Act, stripping regulators of a key tool to keep oceans and bays clean.“This decision ignores the basic reality of how water pollution works,” said Sanjay Narayan of the Sierra Club. “It significantly hinders the EPA’s authority to protect America’s water.”
Justice Amy Coney Barrett dissented, warning that the ruling undercuts the EPA’s ability to enforce “any limitation” needed to keep water safe.
The result? More pollution, fewer safeguards, and a Supreme Court that keeps siding with corporate interests over clean water. Read more from David G. Savage and Ian James at the LA Times.
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