A temporary media blackout at the Environmental Protection Agency was set in motion on Tuesday by the Trump administration. Emails received by EPA staff members included a ban on press releases, updates on any of the agency's social media and outlawed blog posts. The EPA social media accounts and website have had no new updates since Friday.

All business activities at the agency have been temporarily suspended. This suspension will have a large impact on the EPA's activities around the country. Many states rely on the EPA for funding and received no notification from the agency about the suspension of activities. This impacted individual states ability to implement critical environmental programs, angering state leaders from both parties.

These actions along with the delayed implementation of rules finalized by President Obama, are the Trump administration's first steps to eliminating many environmental regulations. The rules and regulations finalized by Obama include stricter air pollution standards for individual states and renewable fuel standards nationwide. President Trump ordered a freeze for all rules that have yet to be finalized.

Doug Ericksen, who is the communications director for the transition team at the EPA, stated, "‘We’re just trying to get a handle on everything and make sure what goes out reflects the priorities of the new administration" (Boston Globe). While it is normal to review the policies of executive agencies during a transition period, the agencies usually still have the right to release information to the American people.

Trump and his nominee for EPA administrator, Scott Pruitt, are not only known critics of the EPA, but have questioned the validity of climate change. The EPA serves to protect the American people from various environmental threats. It seems as if the agency may not be able to fully execute its duties in the coming years.