Washington, D.C. — Today, the Center for American Progress issued its latest report on climate deniers in Congress, showing that 119 members of the House and Senate continue to deny the overwhelming scientific consensus of human-caused climate change.
While this is a slight decrease from CAP’s previous report finding 123 climate deniers in Congress, the nation’s political leadership has taken a huge step backward overall. Under the Trump administration, the federal government is now rife with officials who deny climate change in leadership positions within the executive branch, presidential cabinet, and Congress.
“Climate deniers who willfully ignore the overwhelming evidence of human-caused climate change continue to pervade the halls of Congress, and now, all levels of the federal government,” said Kat So, campaign manager for Energy and Environment at CAP and author of the report. “The Trump administration has taken a huge step backward by filling key posts with climate deniers who reject science and put special interests over the American people.”
The unique report is based on a comprehensive analysis of public statements and positions of every member of Congress and other key cabinet officials. Among members of Congress, the report found:
- These elected officials have received more than $51 million in lifetime contributions from the fossil fuel industry.
- They make up 22 percent of all members of Congress.
- Of 75 new freshmen, 13 are climate deniers.
One of the most stunning developments is that cabinet leaders at two of the three federal agencies that deal with environmental issues—the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of the Interior—are climate deniers. This is a stark reversal from even the first Trump administration, when the heads of those agencies accepted the scientific research on climate change.
The report comes as the EPA has systematically removed information from its website that connected climate change to the burning of fossil fuels. The Trump administration has systematically created a government built on denying climate change, rejecting science, and putting special interests over the American people.
Read the report: “Climate Deniers of the 119th Congress and the Second Trump Administration” by Kat So
For more information, or to speak with an expert, please contact Sam Hananel at [email protected].