On Jan. 20, 2025, President Trump issued an Executive Order (Initial Rescissions of Harmful Executive Orders and Actions) rescinding President Biden’s Executive Order 14o96, which had supplemented President Clinton’s Order 12898, issued in 1994, establishing a government-wide mandate to advance environmental justice. On Jan. 21, 2025, President Trump issued another Order (Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity) that rescinded Executive Order 12898.
As a result of these and other rescissions, federal agencies no longer have a mandate to consider environmental justice issues in their rulemakings, policies, enforcement decisions, and other activities.
Background on Biden Executive Order 14096
President Biden issued Executive Order 14096 (Revitalizing Our Nation’s Commitment to Environmental Justice for All), supplementing the 1994 EO 12898 with a wide range of agency mandates and new initiatives aimed at advancing environmental justice across the federal government, including defining the relevant communities of concern, the types of environmental and human health effects agencies should consider, mechanisms to ensure meaningful community engagement, and initiatives to fill EJ-related data gaps. The order also creates the first government-wide definition of environmental justice. For more information, see EELP’s explainer and analysis of key updates in EO 14096.