“I think we’re going to see a breakdown across the whole system, where the federal agencies will be referring very few cases to the Department of Justice, and then there’ll be issues at the Department of Justice with carrying out the enforcement of these actions that the agencies want,” said Tim Whitehouse, executive director of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, an environmental nonprofit. “I would predict, over the next few years, if things continue, there will be a wholesale collapse of federal enforcement of environmental laws.”
Whitehouse says his office has been inundated in recent weeks by employees across various agencies concerned about the future of their careers and their work. He says there’s a pervasive sense of fear in which not even the top leaders know what to expect or how to continue their jobs.