House Democrats are now amplifying their alarm about the Interior Department’s firing of some U.S. Geological Survey scientists and abrupt elimination of a newly established scientific integrity advisory panel.
In a pointed letter sent Wednesday to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, 32 Democratic lawmakers demanded answers and reinforced their expression of “deep concern” with a set of eight questions, including a few whose answers may be of special interest to the Trump administration itself.
“Interior officials claim these cuts ‘streamline operations’ and ‘reduce redundancies,’ but in reality, they weaken the government’s scientific capacity, erode public trust, and leave communities more vulnerable to environmental and natural hazards,” the House members wrote.
Democratic Reps. Paul Tonko of New York and Jared Huffman of California led the missive. Huffman is the ranking Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee.
