ENVIRONMENT/REGULATIONS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump on Friday [6-14-19] announced plans to slash the formal system for advising regulators on nearly every area of federal policy. The President signed an executive order directing each agency to ‘terminate at least one-third of its current’ advisory committees by the end of September. The order comes as the administration seeks to overhaul the way federal decisions are made and to overturn many decisions of its predecessors, particularly Obama-era environmental rules. Early in his administration, Trump directed agencies to repeal two regulations for every new one created, and his Office of Management and Budget has asserted new authority over traditionally independent agencies. Most recently, the Forest Service proposed a system to streamline its environmental review process that would eliminate from many decisions the current avenues for public input. The federal advisory committee system was formed in the 1970s to provide structure and greater transparency around the government’s job of seeking expert advice.”
–Gregory Wallace, “Trump’s latest government overhaul aims to cut advisory panels by one-third,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, June 14, 9:19 pm