Trump’s pick for EPA general counsel lacks regulatory and courtroom experience but moves ahead in Senate vote

President Trump’s nominee to serve as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s top lawyer advanced in the Senate despite limited courtroom and regulatory legal experience.

Katie Surma reports for Inside Climate News.

In short:

Sean Donahue, who has never taken a deposition or written a legal motion, cleared a Senate committee vote to become general counsel for the EPA, a position in which he'd oversee enforcement of major environmental laws like the Clean Air Act.
Donahue previously worked as a special advisor in the EPA under Trump and briefly as a lawyer in private practice before being fired. His current partner helps vet political appointees for the administration.
If confirmed by the full Senate, Donahue will lead more than 200 attorneys and play a central role in lawsuits challenging Trump’s rollback of environmental protections.

Key quote:

“He would have trouble getting an entry-level legal position in any of our offices.”

— Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.)

Why this matters:

The nomination of Donahue to lead the EPA's Office of General Counsel is another indication of the agency's approach to environmental regulation during the second Trump term. Critics, including several former EPA attorneys, argue that Donahue — whose background reportedly leans more toward political loyalty than expertise in environmental law — may not be equipped to navigate the dense legal terrain of environmental statutes and precedent. Donahue’s selection appears emblematic of a broader strategy by the Trump administration to challenge the foundation of federal regulatory science. Analysts point to growing efforts to sideline long-standing environmental research, shift enforcement priorities, and limit the weight of scientific consensus in environmental policymaking.

Learn more: New Trump-era EPA move could let polluters dodge toxic air rules

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