Sign up for our daily briefing

Make your busy days simpler with Axios AM/PM. Catch up on what's new and why it matters in just 5 minutes.

Please enter a valid email.

Please enter a valid email.

Subscription failed
Thank you for subscribing!

Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday

Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday

Please enter a valid email.

Please enter a valid email.

Subscription failed
Thank you for subscribing!

Denver news in your inbox

Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Denver

Please enter a valid email.

Please enter a valid email.

Subscription failed
Thank you for subscribing!

Des Moines news in your inbox

Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Des Moines

Please enter a valid email.

Please enter a valid email.

Subscription failed
Thank you for subscribing!

Minneapolis-St. Paul news in your inbox

Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Twin Cities

Please enter a valid email.

Please enter a valid email.

Subscription failed
Thank you for subscribing!

Tampa Bay news in your inbox

Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Tampa Bay

Please enter a valid email.

Please enter a valid email.

Subscription failed
Thank you for subscribing!

Charlotte news in your inbox

Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Charlotte

Please enter a valid email.

Please enter a valid email.

Subscription failed
Thank you for subscribing!

Please enter a valid email.

Please enter a valid email.

Subscription failed
Thank you for subscribing!

Former EPA chiefs call for post-election agency "reset"

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler and President Trump at the White House in July. Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images

Six former Environmental Protection Agency chiefs who served in Republican and Democratic administrations signed an open letter Wednesday calling for a "reset" of the agency after November's presidential election.

Why it matters: The letter from the bipartisan Environmental Protection Network, comprising over 500 former EPA senior managers and employees, expresses concern concerned about "the current state of affairs at EPA," without naming President Trump whose administration has rolled back several Obama-era environmental protections.

"As EPA approaches its 50th anniversary this December, we believe the time has come to reset the future course for EPA in a new, forward-looking direction to address the environmental challenges we face today and those that lie ahead."
— Environmental Protection Network letter

The other side: EPA spokesperson James Hewitt responded in an emailed statement to Axios and other outlets to the letter, which is signed by former commissioners Lee Thomas, William Reilly, Carol Browner, Christine Todd Whitman, Lisa Jackson and Gina McCarthy.

  • Hewitt said Andrew Wheeler, the agency's current administrator, is "proud of our record addressing environmental problems impacting Americans."
  • Wheeler "won't be taking 'reset' advice from administrators who ignored" the Flint lead drinking water contamination crisis, the "botched the Gold King Mine response" to the waste water spill in Colorado and who "encouraged New Yorkers" to breathe "contaminated air at Ground Zero" after the September 11, 2001 attacks, Hewitt added.

Read the letter in full, via DocumentCloud:

Go deeper

Rebecca Falconer
Updated Sep 28, 2020 - Health

Texas governor declares disaster after brain-eating amoeba found in city's water

Characteristics associated with a case of amebic meningoencephalitis due to Naegleria fowleri parasites. Photo: Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) issued a disaster declaration for Brazoria County Sunday amid concerns that the water supply may contain the brain-eating amoeba naegleria fowleri.

Driving the news: Lake Jackson issued a separate disaster declaration Saturday and a "Boil Water Notice" is in place for the city following the death of a 6-year-old boy on Sept. 8

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow
Ben Geman, author of Generate
Sep 28, 2020 - Energy & Environment

The Supreme Court's coming rightward shift on climate

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

Amy Coney Barrett's likely ascension to the Supreme Court would affect climate policy beyond shoving the court rightward in the abstract.

Why it matters: If Joe Biden wins the presidential election, his regulations and potential new climate laws would face litigation that could reach the high court.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow
Jonathan Swan
3 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Scoop: Gina Haspel threatened to resign over plan to install Kash Patel as CIA deputy

CIA Director Gina Haspel. Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images

CIA Director Gina Haspel threatened to resign in early December after President Trump cooked up a hasty plan to install loyalist Kash Patel, a former aide to Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), as her deputy, according to three senior administration officials with direct knowledge of the matter.

Why it matters: The revelation stunned national security officials and almost blew up the leadership of the world's most powerful spy agency. Only a series of coincidences — and last minute interventions from Vice President Mike Pence and White House counsel Pat Cipollone — stopped it.

Go deeper (3 min. read)Arrow

You’ve caught up. Now what?

Sign up for Mike Allen’s daily Axios AM and PM newsletters to get smarter, faster on the news that matters.

Please enter a valid email.

Please enter a valid email.

Subscription failed
Thank you for subscribing!