Christine Ho, christine.ho@sierraclub.org
Washington, D.C. - Today, the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works is holding a hearing to consider the nominations of David Fotouhi as the next Deputy Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and Aaron Szabo as the Assistant Administrator for the Office of Air and Radiation.
David Fotouhi served in the EPA during Trump’s first administration, where he pushed to weaken protections against air and water pollution, endangering the American public by dismantling bedrock environmental policies. As an attorney, Fotouhi defended major corporations for environmental violations—going as far as to challenge the EPA’s asbestos ban on behalf of the automotive industry. Some of his former clients, including Luminant, the American Forest and Paper Association, and Matador Resources, are still currently in litigation for failing to meet EPA standards.
Aaron Szabo also served in the first Trump administration as the White House Council on Environmental Quality. Recently he was cited as a contributor to Project 2025’s chapter on the EPA, which recommended Trump’s EPA to reject the 2009 endangerment finding that greenhouse gases endangers public health, roll back lifesaving pollution standards, and revise the designation of certain hazardous substances. Szabo is also a registered lobbyist for corporations including the American Petroleum Institute and American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers.
In response, Sierra Club Legislative Director Melinda Pierce released the following statement:
“As the second-in-command of the EPA, David Fotouhi would bear the responsibility of ensuring all Americans have access to clean air and water, yet one quick glance at his resume will show you that Fotouhi has no interest in prioritizing the wellbeing of our communities before the profits of fossil fuel companies.
“Having spent decades propping up the fossil fuel industry, David Fotouhi will undoubtedly wreak havoc on our environment by walking back critical, lifesaving safeguards and allowing corporate polluters to emit more toxins into our air and water. We cannot afford to let someone with such a blatant disregard for public health and the public good lead the charge in protecting our environment.
“To add insult to injury, confirming a Project 2025 contributor as the Assistant Administrator for the Office of Air and Radiation is nothing short of a total betrayal of our country’s public health and our access to clean air and water.
“When he is not writing Project 2025’s recommendations on how to gut the Clean Air Act, the implementation of which he would now oversee, Aaron Szabo has spent his career lobbying to weaken the EPA. His reckless ambitions to rid our country of necessary guard rails against rampant air and water pollution will cost lives, and we cannot let his dangerous agenda move forward.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.