Trump administration reportedly told EPA to freeze grants, contracts

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Environmental Protection Agency officials were reportedly told to freeze all grants and contracts within hours of President Donald Trump’s inauguration ceremony.

The Washington Post reported that an email was sent Friday to employees of the Office of Acquisition Management from the incoming EPA administration to temporarily suspend “all contract and grant awards.”

The move isn’t unprecedented, according to Competitive Enterprise Institute director Myron Ebell, who oversaw the EPA transition for the Trump administration.

“They’re trying to freeze things to make sure nothing happens they don’t want to have happen, so any regulations going forward, contracts, grants, hires, they want to make sure to look at them first,” Ebell told ProPublica on Monday. “This may be a little wider than some previous administrations, but it’s very similar to what others have done.”

However, one employee told the publication that he couldn’t recall a similar event happening in 10 years with the agency.

The EPA awards more than $4 billion in funding for government grants and contracts each year.

Click for more from The Washington Post.