Barack Obama and Gavin Newsom criticize President Trump’s decision to abolish the EPA
Former President Barack Obama and Governor Gavin Newsom criticized President Donald Trump’s sweeping repeal of the EPA.
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said the federal government would step in to “protect” the Potomac River after a major sewer line burst, accusing Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, a Democrat with whom he has been sparring, of gross mismanagement.
On January 19, a sewer system in Montgomery County, Maryland, collapsed, spilling more than 200 million gallons of wastewater into the Potomac River in the Washington, D.C., area. President Trump, who is seeking to assert federal control over Democratic-run cities and states, said in a Feb. 16 social media post: “I am directing federal authorities to immediately take the necessary controls, direction, and coordination to protect the Potomac River, the National Capital Region’s water supply, and our precious national resources in our nation’s capital.”
The University of Maryland called the incident “one of the largest sewage spills in U.S. history,” and said researchers detected high concentrations of fecal-related bacteria and disease-causing pathogens in the river, raising urgent public health concerns and highlighting the risks posed by aging wastewater infrastructure.
“The federal government has no choice but to intervene,” Trump said in the post, adding that the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which has undergone significant staffing cuts since Trump took office, would coordinate the response.
President Trump singled out Moore, who he plans to exclude from a bipartisan event at the White House this week, along with Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, in a Truth social post claiming local leaders are unprepared to deal with the spill.
“As a result of gross mismanagement by local Democratic leaders, especially Maryland Governor Wes Moore, a massive ecological disaster is occurring on the Potomac River,” Trump wrote. “This governor can’t rebuild bridges either. It’s clear that local governments can’t adequately respond to this disaster.”
“We cannot allow incompetent local ‘leaders’ to turn a river in the heart of Washington into a disaster zone,” President Trump said in a post referring to the Palisades wildfires in California. “Democrats’ power war has real consequences.”
Asked about Moore later in a Q&A with reporters, President Trump said the Democrat had done a “terrible job” as governor. Trump added: “He’s not doing his job. We need to get the federal government involved to solve the problem, because he can’t fix anything.”
Moore’s press secretary, Ammar Moussa, fired back at Trump’s social media posts in a lengthy statement, saying the federal government was responsible for the leak and that the Potomac Interceptor was responsible for the leak. Interceptor serves parts of Virginia and Maryland.
“The president’s facts are wrong again,” Musa said.
A spokesperson for the governor said Maryland authorities were on the scene “within hours” of the breach and accused the Trump administration of “shirking responsibility” and putting the public’s health at risk. He also accused the federal Environmental Protection Agency of missing a hearing in the Maryland General Assembly on the issue last week.
“Clearly the Trump administration didn’t get the memo that they were actually supposed to be in charge here,” he said.
“If the federal government is willing to act now, we will continue to respond collaboratively, as always, and keep the public informed about the federal government’s plans to repair the damage,” Moosa added. “The Potomac River is not a talking point, and the people of this region deserve serious leadership in a timely manner.”
The EPA said in a statement that it has deferred its request for clarification from the state Legislature because the D.C. Water Authority and the state of Maryland are leading the response and monitoring of the sewage spill. The agency said it is working to ensure a response occurs as soon as possible and plans to launch a public webpage summarizing its involvement.
Contributed by: Reuters
