POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT: The head of the federal Environmental Protection Agency announced that the EPA is backing away from environmental protection to become an engine for economic growth. Lee Zeldin wrote in The Wall Street Journal that, “We are driving a dagger through the heart of climate-change religion and ushering in America’s Golden Age.” 

  What has happened is that the business people frustrated by environmental regulation are now in charge.

  In a video posted on social media Zeldin also called it, “the largest deregulatory announcement in US history.” Nowhere in his video did Zeldin refer to protecting the environment or public health.

  The Trump administration announced that it will cancel the  most significant environmental regulations, including limits on pollution from vehicles and smokestacks, wetland protections, and even remove the legal basis that allows the EPA to regulate the greenhouse gases that are heating up the planet.

  As further evidence that the current incarnation of the Environmental Protection Agency is not going to protect the environment, the EPA said that it is canceling $20 billion in grants for climate and clean energy programs that have been frozen.

SHUTDOWN LOOMING: In their first major legislative opportunity to block President Trump’s government-shrinking agenda, Senate Democrats are preparing to vote down a funding bill that would keep the government running until fall. The bill at the moment would need the vote of eight Democrats to keep moving.

  Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said his party wants a 30-day stopgap that would keep the government open while both parties come to some kind of agreement. Complicating things is that the House Republicans passed their spending bill and left town with a government shutdown looming at midnight Friday.

  The Democrats worry that the bill as it is gives too much power to Donald Trump to keep overhauling and dismantling the government. But shutting down could also give Trump the opportunity to further gut the government.

 BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE:

 — Donald go bragh ….  Sitting before reporters at the White House with the prime minister of Ireland, President Trump yesterday rambled on about his accomplishments in office so far and … again … that the wars in Gaza and Ukraine never would have happened if he had been president.

  Trump started out by praising Ireland for being smart to steal the American pharmaceutical industry then descended into one of his rants.

  On the tariffs that have rattled the financial markets and set off an international trade war, Trump said, “If they charge us 25, or 20 percent, 10 percent, 2 percent or 200 percent then that’s what we’re charging them.” He said, “There’s nothing more fair than that.”

   Despite the economic turmoil and threat of a recession sparked by uncertain economic policy, Trump said, “We’re doing well because I won the election. If I didn’t win the election you would have had a very bad period.”

  He blamed the sliding stock market on the Biden administration, “a really bad four years that we had. … I mean wars and inflation and so many other problems.” The markets hit records while Biden was president. 

   Trump also touted the falling price of eggs, “down almost 30 percent in the last few days.” And while that is true, the price of eggs hit a record high last month.  

—   The acting executive secretary of the US Agency for International Development ordered remaining employees to empty the classified document safes and personnel files and “Shred as many documents first, and reserve the burn bags for when the shredder becomes unavailable or needs a break.” It’s unknown whether the order was approved by law with the National Archives.

— A DC federal judge ordered the Trump administration to temporarily halt the unprecedented penalties it placed on a powerful law firm that has represented clients  President Trump considers to be enemies. Trump had signed an executive order that stripped the firm Perkins Coie of its security clearance and ability to deal with the federal government. 

  Judge Beryl Howell  said the Trump order “sends little chills down my spine.”

— Administrators at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism warned its foreign students to refrain from publishing political commentary and social media posts about the Middle East. Following the detention of a former graduate student in international relations who is Palestinian, journalism dean Jelani Cobb told his foreign students, “Nobody can protect you. These are dangerous times.”

— Furthering his control of federal arts institutions under his control, President Trump forced out Shelly Lowe, the chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities, appointed under the Biden administration. 

THE WAR ROOM: While President Trump seeks to get Vladmir Putin to agree to a ceasefire with Ukraine, the Russian president appeared in military uniform in the Kursk region to encourage troops fighting against the Ukrainian incursion there. Ukraine had hoped to take Russian territory as a bargaining chip last summer, but Russia is slowly recovering it. 

  Putin’s show of militarism came a day after Ukrainian representatives met with Americans in Saudia Arabia to talk about peace, and before Americans travel to Moscow for talks.

THE SPIN RACK:  A SpaceX launch to send new astronauts to the International Space Station and bring back two who’ve been stuck up there nearly a year

was scrubbed yesterday. President Trump has frequently blamed Joe Biden for failure to bring back Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams. — Inflation eased in February, but was still at a rate of  2.8 percent over a year ago. Gasoline prices helped keep the rate down a bit. — Burned out lots where homes once stood are going up for sale in Altadena and Pacific Palisades, California.

BELOW THE FOLD: The Gardner Museum in Boston is marking 35 years since two thieves dressed as policemen cut Rembrandt’s “Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee” from its frame and stole 12 other works. The empty Rembrandt frame has been restored and still hangs empty on the gallery wall.

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