EPA puts Trump political aide in charge of grant funding decisions

A former Trump campaign aide has been charged with decisions on grant funding at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), The Washington Post reported.

John Konkus — who works in the EPA’s public affairs office — reportedly reviews all of the awards from the EPA. He also reviews grant solicitations.

In his role, he has told grant officers that references to climate change should be taken out.

{mosads}His decisions on the EPA’s funding have affected money given to universities and nonprofit organizations, according to the Post.

An EPA spokeswoman said grant decisions are intended to “ensure funding is in line with the Agency’s mission and policy priorities.”

“We review grants to see if they are providing tangible results to the American people,” EPA spokeswoman Liz Bowman told the Post in an email.

Former EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman, who worked under former President George W. Bush, said that wasn’t the way things were done when she was in the administration.

“We didn’t do political screening on every grant,” she said, “because many of them were based on science, and political appointees don’t have that kind of background.”