Press Releases
Reps. Huffman, Chu, and Salinas Call on Trump Administration to Reverse U.S. Forest Service Layoffs Amid Growing Wildfire Crisis
Washington, D.C. — House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Jared Huffman (CA-02), Rep. Judy Chu (CA-28), and Rep. Andrea Salinas (OR-06) led 80 House Members in a letter today urging the Trump administration to reverse their decision to fire 3,400 federal workers from the U.S. Forest Service, which manages 193 million acres of public lands. These layoffs are part of a broader effort by President Trump and Elon Musk to dismantle the federal workforce, undermining the ability to respond … Continue Reading
February 25, 2025
Huffman, Heinrich Demand Transparency on Trump Administration’s Plan to Roll Back Protections for Americans’ Public Lands After Interior Fails to Disclose it to the Public, Despite Key Deadline
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Representative Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), Ranking Member of the House Natural Resources Committee, and U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, wrote to Department of Interior Secretary Doug Burgum demanding transparency on the status of an “action plan” to suspend, revise, or rescind protections for American’s public lands. The letter from the lawmakers comes one week after the Department neglected to … Continue Reading
February 17, 2025
Huffman, Pallone, Hoyle, Castor Demand Answers on Trump-Musk Layoff Spree of Grid Workers, Risk to Electricity Supply
Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), Energy and Commerce Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.), and Representatives Val Hoyle (D-Oreg.) and Kathy Castor (D-Fla.) sent a letter demanding answers to the Trump administration’s indiscriminate firing of Power Marketing Administrations (PMAs) employees at Bonneville Power Administration, Southeastern Power Administration, Southwestern Power Administration, and Western … Continue Reading
February 14, 2025
Ranking Member Huffman Blasts Mass Firings at Interior, Forest Service
Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) released a statement regarding the mass firings of as many as 5,700 employees across the Department of the Interior and the U.S. Forest Service. “This slash and burn approach to governing is an all-out attack on thousands of real, hardworking Americans who’ve dedicated their lives to keeping our air breathable, our water drinkable, and our national treasures protected from corporate greed. … Continue Reading
February 14, 2025
Huffman, Schakowsky, Raskin Lead Efforts to Support Public Education and Oppose Scheme to Divert Public Funds to Private, Religious Schools
Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Representatives and Congressional Freethought Caucus members Jared Huffman (CA-02), Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), and Jamie Raskin (MD-08) led 42 colleagues in a letter to President Donald Trump requesting that he immediately withdraw his recent executive order which directs the U.S. Department of Education, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Bureau of Indian Education, and the Department of Defense to prioritize funding for private and charter schools, … Continue Reading
February 13, 2025
Reps. Huffman, Peters, Neguse, & 54 Democrats Demand Trump Admin Restart Wildfire Prevention Work, Unfreeze Federal Firefighter Hiring
Washington, D.C. - This week, U.S. Representatives Jared Huffman (CA-02), Scott Peters (CA-50), and Joe Neguse (CO-02), along with 54 of their Democratic colleagues, demanded that the Trump administration restart paused wildfire prevention work under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act. Through executive orders, the administration has frozen essential wildfire mitigation efforts, like reducing flammable vegetation, providing emergency planning services to communities, … Continue Reading
February 12, 2025
Republicans Refuse Any Oversight of Musk and Trump During First Natural Resources Committee Mark Up
Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. House Natural Resources Committee held their first mark up of the 119th Congress, where they reviewed - among other items - Republicans' “119th Congress Authorization and Oversight Plan." Democrats offered a series of amendments designed to use the Committee's oversight authorities to meaningfully rein in Musk and Trump's abuses of power. Ranking Member Huffman speaks during committee markup. (February 12, 2025) "Let me assure the American people: … Continue Reading
February 12, 2025
Huffman, Merkley, Reintroduce Bill to Restore Critical Kelp Forests
Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Representative Jared Huffman (CA-02) and U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) reintroduced the bicameral Help Our Kelp Act of 2025 to improve conditions for kelp forests and marine life. This legislation would invest federal resources to address the ongoing crises that kelp forest ecosystems face in Northern California, Southern Oregon, and across the country. Over the last 50 years, more than 95% of kelp forests stretching from the South Coast of Oregon to the … Continue Reading
February 10, 2025
Ranking Members Huffman, Hoyle Request Administration Leaders Meet with House Democrats to Answer Questions about DOGE Chaos at NOAA
Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), Water, Wildlife and Fisheries Subcommittee Ranking Member Val Hoyle, and led 13 Members of Congress sent a letter to Vice Admiral Nancy Hann, acting NOAA Administrator, demanding answers on reports of President Trump and Elon Musk’s efforts to unlawfully dismantle NOAA. The signers include Members of Congress who represent congressional districts with facilities and employees of the … Continue Reading
February 04, 2025
Ranking Members Huffman, Lofgren Sound the Alarm on Musk’s Invasion at Key Science Agency
Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Jared Huffman (CA-02) and Science, Space, and Technology Committee Ranking Member Zoe Lofgren (CA-18) issued the following statement: “Elon Musk and his DOGE hackers are ransacking their way through the federal government, unlawfully gaining unfettered access to Americans’ private information and gutting programs people depend on. Now they have reached NOAA where they’re wreaking havoc on the scientific and … Continue Reading
February 03, 2025
Huffman, Dexter Call on Natural Resources Committee Republicans to Investigate Trump’s Illegal Midnight Purge of Inspectors General
Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) and Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Ranking Member Maxine Dexter (D-Oreg.) sent a letter to Committee Chair Bruce Westerman requesting a hearing to get to the bottom of Trump’s unprecedented and illegal late-night firing of inspectors general from various federal agencies, a move that was outlined in Trump’s Project 2025. “Protecting the independence of the inspectors general has … Continue Reading
February 01, 2025
Huffman, Larsen Demand Answers on Trump’s Wasteful, Unscheduled Water Releases from Major CA Dams
Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) and Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Ranking Member Rick Larsen (D-Wash.) sent a letter to Department of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Department of the Interior Secretary Doug Burgum demanding an explanation for the Trump administration’s abrupt, unscheduled water releases from Terminus Dam and Schafer Dam in California’s Central Valley by the U.S. Army Corps of … Continue Reading
January 30, 2025
Congressional Freethought Caucus Members Write to Speaker Johnson Over Constitutional, Ethical, and Human Rights Concerns with National Prayer Breakfast
Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Representatives Jared Huffman (CA-02), Mark Pocan (WI-02), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC), and Sean Casten (IL-06) sent a letter to Speaker Johnson to express concerns about funding for the National Prayer Breakfast from anti-LGBTQ+ extremists at the Fellowship Foundation and about the broader constitutional problem with institutionalizing a religious ceremony in the secular Capitol. “As members of the Congressional Freethought Caucus, we are steadfast in our … Continue Reading
January 29, 2025
In Letter to Trump, Huffman, Leger Fernández, House and Senate Colleagues Demand a Stop to Unconscionable ICE Harassment of Native American Citizens
Washington, D.C. - Today, Ranking Member of the House Natural Resources Committee Jared Huffman, Congresswoman Teresa Leger Fernández, Ranking Member of the Homeland Security Committee Bennie Thompson, Congressman Raúl Grijalva, Congressman Melanie Stansbury, Congressman Gabe Vasquez, Congresswoman Yassamin Ansari and Senators Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Lujan sent a letter to President Donald Trump demanding immediate action to address reports of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) … Continue Reading
January 28, 2025
Huffman Decries Trump’s Dictatorial Power Grabs
Washington, D.C. - Today, Founder of the Stop Project 2025 Task Force and Ranking Member of the House Natural Resources Committee Jared Huffman (CA-02) released a statement decrying the Trump administration’s illegal order for the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to block and redirect vast swaths of federal funding approved by Congress. This radical attempt to override laws and subordinate Congress’ Article I power to the whims of Trump’s Executive Orders comes on the heels of Trump’s … Continue Reading
January 26, 2025
Ranking Member Huffman Slams Trump’s Executive Order to Upend California Water System, Once Again Conditioning Aid
WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) issued the following statement on President Donald Trump’s executive order related to Southern California’s water supply:“President Trump has wasted no time in abusing his power by capitalizing on a crisis to advance the GOP’s longstanding goals of decimating environmental protections and putting special interests over the needs of everyday Americans. With the stroke of a pen, Trump has chosen to … Continue Reading
January 25, 2025
Rebuking Late-night Purge of Inspectors General, House Democratic Ranking Members Demand President Trump Comply with the Law
WASHINGTON - Today, Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Jared Huffman joined Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Gerald E. Connolly and fellow House Committee Ranking Members in a letter to President Donald Trump condemning his attempted late-night purge of at least 12 independent inspectors general, which appears to have violated federal law designed to protect their work from political interference and intimidation. The Ranking Members wrote: “We write … Continue Reading
January 25, 2025
Rebuking Late-night Purge of Inspectors General, House Democratic Ranking Members Demand President Trump Comply with the Law
WASHINGTON - Today, Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Jared Huffman joined Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Gerald E. Connolly and fellow House Committee Ranking Members in a letter to President Donald Trump condemning his attempted late-night purge of at least 12 independent inspectors general, which appears to have violated federal law designed to protect their work from political interference and intimidation.The Ranking Members wrote: “We write to … Continue Reading
January 25, 2025
Ranking Member Huffman Sounds the Alarm on Trump’s Illegal Midnight Purge of Federal Watchdogs
WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) - founder of the Stop Project 2025 Task Force - issued the following statement on Trump’s late-night firing of inspectors general from various federal agencies and purge of federal employees responsible for diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. These plans were included in Trump’s extreme Project 2025 agenda. “Wannabe dictator Donald Trump’s Friday Night Massacre of more than a dozen … Continue Reading
January 25, 2025
Ranking Member Huffman Sounds the Alarm on Trump’s Illegal Midnight Purge of Federal Watchdogs
WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) - founder of the Stop Project 2025 Task Force - issued the following statement on Trump’s late-night firing of inspectors general from various federal agencies and purge of federal employees responsible for diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. These plans were included in Trump’s extreme Project 2025 agenda. “Wannabe dictator Donald Trump’s Friday Night Massacre of more than a dozen … Continue Reading