WASHINGTON, September 24, 2026 — The image of President Trump reviewing a large poster board outlining plans to demolish the Kennedy Center is one that, as a native Washingtonian and someone who loves the arts, has been rattling around in my head since I first saw it. There may not be a large poster board, but a similar demolition plan is underfoot to strip away meaningful environmental protections.
A week ago Monday, the Trump administration made the egregious decision to try to abandon pollution standards for domestic power plants—facilities that, taken together, would rank among the world’s largest sources of emissions, behind only four countries. The administration is also continuing to issue emergency orders forcing coal-fired power plants providing power that is expensive, inefficient, unreliable, and dirty, to remain open. I am so grateful that EDF is fighting these actions in court. EDF Action continues to fight back against policies that take us backward, drive up costs, and cause harm.
I had the privilege of spending a few minutes with Ambassador Tom Udall at a benefit for the Institute for American Indian Arts in Santa Fe last month. He asked me how it was going, and I shared that it was hard, because so much of what we care about feels like it is under assault. The Udall family’s work to advance the environment takes a back seat to none other in American political history. The Department of the Interior headquarters bears the name of Tom’s father, Stewart Udall. And without Tom’s leadership in the U.S. Senate, the Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act would not have passed. When President Obama signed it in 2016, the law was hailed as the most significant update to a major environmental law in more than a quarter century. Today, EDF Action is hard at work defending that chemical safety law. Ambassador Udall told me that when he first arrived in Washington, his uncle—another famed environmentalist—told him that environmental progress was always an uphill battle, but it was one worth fighting because there’s nothing more important or significant in people’s lives.
I’ve leaned on that advice and the perspective behind it in the weeks since. And, as always, EDF Action is doing our part with a robust political program that has swung into full gear with only 40 days left until the midterm elections. We are hard at work doing all we can to support pro-environment candidates and working to drive additional accountability, both now for elected officials who have enabled the president’s reckless agenda, and in January, when I am hopeful that Congress will demand that the president and his administration act within the law. With your continued help, EDF Action will keep up our good fight.