The Big Story 

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote in a memo Wednesday that the Justice Department will reverse a Biden-era directive to prioritize enforcement of environmental laws in disadvantaged and low-income communities.

© Evan Vucci, Associated Press

Bondi’s predecessor, Merrick Garland, issued guidance in 2022 directing the department to enforce environmental laws with emphasis on communities that have historically been underserved by such enforcement, including those that are low-income and majority racial minority.

On Wednesday, Bondi, who was confirmed by the Senate on Tuesday, rescinded Garland’s memo, along with any similar guidance for U.S. attorneys “to ensure that the Department engages in the even-handed administration of justice.”

Garland’s original directive was accompanied by the creation of the Justice Department’s Office of Environmental Justice (OEJ), which The Washington Post reported was disbanded after Trump’s inauguration.

The OEJ website now redirects to an error message. The Hill has reached out to the Justice Department for comment.

Read more at TheHill.com.

Welcome to The Hill’s Energy & Environment newsletter, we’re Rachel Frazin and Zack Budryk — keeping you up to speed on the policies impacting everything from oil and gas to new supply chains.

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What We’re Reading 

News we’ve flagged from other outlets touching on energy issues, the environment and other topics:

• “We Feel Terrorized”: What EPA Employees Say About the Decision to Stay or Go Under Trump (ProPublica)

   

• Lost cities of the Amazon: how science is revealing ancient garden towns hidden in the rainforest (The Guardian)
  
  

• Trump administration pulls funding for endangered California fish at heart of water wars (The San Francisco Chronicle)

   

What Others are Reading 

Two key stories on The Hill right now:

Trump announces task force to ‘eradicate anti-Christian bias’

President Trump announced plans Thursday to establish a task force and a presidential commission to protect Christians from religious discrimination. Read more

Trump: ’60 Minutes’ should be ‘immediately terminated’ after Harris transcript release

President Trump on Thursday suggested CBS News’s “60 Minutes” be taken off the air after the program released a transcript of an interview it aired last fall with former Vice President Harris amid a federal investigation into the broadcast. Read more

Opinions in The Hill 

Op-ed related to energy & environment submitted to The Hill: