Elon Musk-linked aide gains sweeping control over U.S. Interior Department operations

A former oil executive with ties to Elon Musk now holds expansive authority to reshape operations at the Interior Department, raising alarms among conservationists and longtime federal employees.

Dino Grandoni and Maxine Joselow report for The Washington Post.

In short:

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum appointed Tyler Hassen, a Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) representative and ex-oil executive, to oversee a broad cost-cutting initiative across the department without Senate confirmation.
Hassen and fellow DOGE aide Matt Luby are scrutinizing grants and contracts, seeking access to sensitive payroll and personnel systems, and pushing for the elimination of discretionary funding, including specific targeting of grants to Maine.
Career officials have raised legal and procedural concerns about DOGE’s overreach, including attempts to remove an attorney who challenged their authority, while critics say the actions undermine the Interior Department’s mission to protect public lands and wildlife.

Key quote:

“If Doug Burgum doesn’t want this job, he should quit now.— Jennifer Rokala, executive director of the Center for Western Priorities

Why this matters:

The Interior Department oversees some of the nation’s most treasured natural resources, including national parks, endangered species habitats, and vast public lands. Its mission is inherently conservation-focused, but giving unchecked power to political appointees — especially those with ties to the fossil fuel industry — risks shifting that mission toward deregulation and privatization. The Department of Government Efficiency, though not a cabinet-level agency, is now deeply embedded in major environmental and public land agencies, prompting worries of political loyalty outweighing science or legal process.

www.washingtonpost.com

Elon Musk-linked aide gains sweeping control over U.S. Interior Department operations

Colorado bill would require safety plans to protect workers from extreme temperatures

How the meat industry is quietly keeping its emissions off the climate agenda

A shrinking Colorado River is forcing farms to change

The war with Iran is already about energy

Spiking gas prices spark consumer interest in electric vehicles

Trump’s energy ‘tiger team’ struggles to find its roar with Iran

London, San Francisco and Beijing achieve ‘remarkable reductions’ in air pollution

Multiple Houston-area oil and gas facilities that have violated pollution laws are seeking permit renewals

One facility has emitted cancer-causing chemicals into waterways at levels up to 520% higher than legal limits.

Pennsylvania health advocates say Trump’s first 100 days in office have caused “100 harms” to local communities

“They're terrorizing these scientists because they want to keep them silent.”

Regulators are underestimating health impacts from air pollution: Study

"The reality is, we are not exposed to one chemical at a time.”

Two years into his term, has Gov. Shapiro kept his promises to regulate Pennsylvania’s fracking industry?

A new report assesses the administration’s progress and makes new recommendations

An open letter from EPA staff to the American public

“We cannot stand by and allow this to happen. We need to hold this administration accountable.”

New evidence links heavy metal pollution with wildfire retardants

“The chemical black box” that blankets wildfire-impacted areas is increasingly under scrutiny.