I’ll be blunt — our country is in the midst of a profound constitutional, legal, moral, and environmental crisis.
By now it’s obvious to all of us that we’re not living in normal times. Over the past 18 months, the federal government has been taken over by grifters and ideologues, many of whom are working to enrich themselves off government while building an authoritarian system with an all-powerful leader.
The new Trump era has brought a vast circumvention of laws and established procedures, willful disregard of Congressional oversight and appropriations, and open contempt for the sensibilities of the American public. Science has been gutted, polluters rewarded, public lands mismanaged, independent watchdogs and whistleblowers attacked, and confidential government data seized by DOGE operatives.
The Supreme Court helped lay the groundwork for all of this.
It opened the floodgates to unlimited money in politics, untethered the President from modern checks and balances, granted sweeping immunity for acts he’s committed while in office, greenlit the wholesale purging of federal employees, and repeatedly overruled decades of settled environmental and civil service law.
We’re clearly in new and dangerous territory as a country. We have to recognize the moment we’re in and realize we aren’t going back to the way things were, nor should we try to.
So that leads us to the question I am often asked — how do we respond?
Here are seven themes driving our work right now:
- Stick to our mission. Protecting public employees who are targeted for their expertise or for speaking out matters more now than ever. This is who we are, and we’re not changing.
- Defend what can be defended. Almost every environmental and civil service fight we’re in is still winnable. We’re in this for the long haul.
- Make corruption costly. People across the political spectrum are repulsed by the level of corruption in this administration. We need to step up our efforts to investigate corruption and put it in the spotlight.
- Keep people and the environment front and center. Clean air, clean water, and public health aren’t partisan issues. Nearly everyone, everywhere, cares about them.
- Develop bold new ideas and simple fixes. This moment calls for tackling the root causes of corruption and the authoritarian slide we’re in, not just the symptoms. Stay tuned for more on this in the coming months.
- Build from the ground up and the top down. Local, state, and federal issues are more connected than ever. We’re staying engaged at every level.
- Grow coalitions and partnerships. We’re not going to get where we want to go alone. We’re partnering wherever it strengthens our work.
How do you think PEER should meet this moment? We want your feedback — feel free to contact us.
In the coming months, we’ll survey our supporters to learn what matters most to you and where you think PEER should focus in the months and years ahead.
Thank you for all you do and for standing with us.
Tim Whitehouse is the Executive Director at PEER.