Jul 15, 2019

Trump administration moving Bureau of Land Management HQ out of D.C.

Ursula Perano

Photo: Zach Gibson/Getty Images

The Interior Department is set to move the Bureau of Land Management’s headquarters and more than 1/5 of its staff out west, E&E News reports.

Why it matters: BLM manages over 10% of the nation's land, according to the Washington Post. This move is one of the starkest examples of what the Post calls Trump's push to "shift power away from Washington and shrink the size of the federal government."

Between the lines: The administration has been considering this move for most of the time Trump has been in office. Many of the employees will move to Grand Junction, Colo., the Post reports.

The other side: The Interior Department's first whistleblower under Trump, Joel Clement, tweeted that moving the agency's headquarters out of DC would marginalize the agency in budget and policy decisions.

Go deeper: Meet the Department of Interior's new acting director David Bernhardt

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Ben Geman

The climate peril from land degradation

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

Human influence on lands is a major contributor to climate change — and climate change, in turn, is harming ecosystems and threatening food security, a major United Nations report finds.

Why it matters: While cutting fossil fuel emissions is vital, Thursday's report shows how the uphill battle to meet the Paris agreement's temperature goals requires focus on land use, too.

Go deeperArrowAug 8, 2019
Rashaan Ayesh

Trump circumvents Congress to block foreign aid

Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

The Trump administration has frozen at least $2 billion in foreign aid and ordered a review of the spending, which has already been approved by Congress, reports the Washington Post.

Why it matters: President Trump is circumventing Congress in a move one Democratic aide told the NYT could "set a precedent for future administrations to ignore spending bills and eliminate spending obligations."

Go deeperArrowAug 7, 2019
Rebecca Falconer

Trump makes false claims on constitutional powers, "rigged" polls

President Trump addresses the Teen Student Action Summit. Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images

President Trump has been called out for making a series of false claims at the Teen Student Action Summit 2019 on Tuesday.

Details: The New York Times noted during his 80-minute speech Trump incorrectly claimed that unauthorized immigrants can vote and that the election systems in states like California are "rigged," without citing any evidence.

Go deeperArrowJul 24, 2019