Trump administration

Senior Counsel

Peter has been an environmental, land use, and consumer attorney and advocate since 1983. He has held various roles in Washington, DC including Of Counsel at the Center for Food Safety; Vice President for U.S. Government Policy at Conservation International; Director of International Conservation at Defenders of Wildlife; and Staff Attorney at the Center for Science in the Public Interest. Additionally, he worked as a contracted consultant on endangered species recovery efforts with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Turner Endangered Species Fund in New Mexico. Prior to that, he served as an Attorney and Policy Analyst for the U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, and was also in private law practice. His career has centered on bringing the best science to bear in environmental protection efforts; he has specialized in working with scientists so their findings can inform good policy, as well as in federal litigation. Most of his work has been in aid of wildlife conservation in the fields of pesticides, genetically modified organisms, invasive species, wildlife disease prevention, international trade, land use conflicts, and other areas. Peter received his law degree from the University of Puget Sound (now Seattle University) School of Law and also has a master’s degree in Environmental Studies from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, with a focus on conservation biology.

PEERMail | Good News for Federal Employees!

by PEER | October 16, 2025
A federal judge's ruling puts a legal stop for the moment to one of the most blatant examples yet of the Trump administration's abuse of power ...

STATEMENT | Federal Court Ruling Halting Illegal Firings of Federal Workers

by Tim Whitehouse | October 15, 2025
Today’s court ruling is an important victory for federal employees, for the rule of law, and for the principle that public servants cannot be used as political pawns ...

Webinar | Environmental Protection, Public Service, and the Rise of Authoritarianism

by PEER | October 7, 2025
Listen in on an important, engaging and interactive discussion on the threats to environmental protection and public employees during the rise of authoritarianism and explore how we in the environmental movement can be more effective in our work ...

STATEMENT | Trump Administration Plan To Not Pay Furloughed Federal Employees Is “Illegal and Morally Corrupt”

The millions of hard working people who work for the federal government should not be used as political pawns nor should their livelihood become a political weapon ...

COMMENTARY | The Supreme Court Must Stop the Slide to Authoritarian Rule

The Supreme Court, whose 2025-2026 Term began on October 6, has set the stage for a descent to authoritarian rule in a series of quick rulings that favored President Trump over the last nine months ...
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