Sierra Club Releases First Trove of Emails, Texts, and Calendars from Trump’s Department of the Interior - CleanTechnica

The Sierra Club has released the first batch of emails, texts, and calendars obtained from the Department of the Interior related to the Trump administration’s early 2025 actions. The documents reveal bipartisan congressional concern over the administration’s mass firings and funding freezes, which halted critical projects including disaster relief efforts for wildfire- and tornado-affected communities and essential drinking water infrastructure. Communications show frantic inquiries from both Republican and Democratic lawmakers seeking updates and explanations for these disruptions. Notably, the records include messages from Rep. Ryan Zinke’s Chief of Staff about emergency meetings to address suspended water infrastructure repairs in Montana and evidence of funding cuts affecting local facilities like the Fresno Dam. The released materials also highlight numerous meeting requests from fossil fuel, mining, and other industry representatives, alongside involvement from staffers linked to Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). These DOGE personnel were embedded within Interior and other agencies, influencing decisions on budget freezes, contract suspensions, and staffing cuts. Although many of