The Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD) of the Department of Justice faces its most profound crisis since it was established in 1909. In a little over a week, the Trump administration has (1) reassigned four career managers (leading nearly half of ENRD’s sections) to the newly formed Office of Sanctuary Cities Enforcement; (2) placed career attorneys working in ENRD’s Office of Environmental Justice on administrative leave; (3) suspended the nearly 75-year-old Honors Program for entry level attorneys; and (4) if rumors are to believed, made plans to eliminate the entire Law and Policy Section, discharging career attorneys and support staff as part of a “reduction in force.” More rumors swirl that other closures and terminations may follow.
The messages for ENRD’s career lawyers are clear. Depth of experience, independent judgment, and keen legal skills are no longer valued. Dedication to upholding the Constitution and the Rule of Law is irrelevant. Nonpartisanship is disloyalty. ENRD is expendable.
Given the crises facing other components of DOJ and departments across the federal government, the consequences of this crisis have largely been crowded out of the news cycle. As proud ENRD alumni with more than 40 years of service among us, we share our observations on what will be lost and what is at risk if the administration stays on its current course.
Read the full article on LegalPlanet, by HLS Emmett Environmental Law and Policy Clinic’s Sommer Engels and Andrew Mergan, and University of Arizona Environmental Law Program’s Justin Pidot.