Capture lane

Environmental Capture

The Environmental Capture capture lane traces 156 verified events documenting this mechanism of institutional capture.

156 events From Dec 17, 1963 To Jun 10, 2026 Open in filter view →
Top 10 actors in this lane 10 actors · 1619–2026
Top actors in Environmental Capture1620162516301635164016451650165516601665167016751680168516901695170017051710171517201725173017351740174517501755176017651770177517801785179017951800180518101815182018251830183518401845185018551860186518701875188018851890189519001905191019151920192519301935194019451950195519601965197019751980198519901995200020052010201520202025WatergateReaganIran-Contra9/11Citizens UnitedTrump 1.0Trump 2.0U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyLee ZeldinUnited Mine Workers of AmericaWalter ReutherNational Labor Relations BoardChris WrightAmerican workersEnvironmental Protection Agency (EPA)AFL-CIOAmerican Legislative Exchange Council63 events
Capture lanecorruptiondemocraticexecutivefinancialintelligencejudiciallaborlegislativemediamilitaryotherregulatory Status confirmed alleged disputed
DateEventLanesStatus
2026-06-10Gov. Abbott directs PUCT to require data centers to fully fund own electric infrastructure; PUCT must act to reduce residential transmission costs by July 31, 2026 4 src
Greg Abbott · Public Utility Commission of Texas · ERCOT
confirmed
2026-05-13EPA Proposes Redefining 'Begin Actual Construction' Under NSR — Allows Datacenter Construction Before Air Permits 5 src
Lee Zeldin · U.S. Environmental Protection Agency · Donald Trump
confirmed
2026-05-01DOE §202(c) emergency coal-retention order log through May 2026: 43+ orders, ~4.4 GW stalled across 6 plants, D.C. Circuit challenges filed 10 src
Chris Wright · Department of Energy · NIPSCO · Earthjustice · +1
confirmed
2026-04-16FERC misses DOE-ordered April 30 deadline on large-load interconnection Docket RM26-4-000 — issues Intent to Act order committing to June 2026 action 6 src
Chris Wright · Department of Energy
confirmed
2026-03-22EPA Weakens National Park Haze Rule, Shields Coal Plants from Pollution Control Evaluations 3 src
EPA · Sierra Club · Earthjustice
confirmed
2026-03-20Half of National Weather Service Offices Critically Understaffed, Eight Cease Overnight Operations 3 src
NOAA
confirmed
2026-03-20NV Energy Declines to Extend Lake Tahoe Wholesale Power Supply, Citing Data-Center Demand; ~49,000 Liberty Utilities Customers Need Replacement Supply by Mid-2027 4 src
Google · Apple · Microsoft
confirmed
2026-03-1924 States and 15 Local Governments Sue EPA Over Repeal of Greenhouse Gas Endangerment Finding 4 src
AG Letitia James · EPA · Trump Administration
confirmed
2026-03-16PUCT issues draft report in Project 58484 recommending Texas shift from 4CP to multi-peak transmission cost methodology — final rules required by December 31, 2026 4 src
Public Utility Commission of Texas · ERCOT · Greg Abbott
confirmed
2026-02-23Legal Scholars Assess State Climate Authority After Endangerment Repeal; California Formally Sues EPA 6 src
California Attorney General Rob Bonta · U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
confirmed
2026-02-21Independent Analysis Projects 58,000 Additional Deaths and $4.7 Trillion in Costs from EPA Endangerment Repeal 4 src
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency · Lee Zeldin · Donald Trump · Fossil Fuel Industry
confirmed
2026-02-18EPA Endangerment Finding Repeal Published in Federal Register; Coalition Lawsuits Filed Same Day 7 src
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency · Lee Zeldin · Earthjustice · Environmental Defense Fund · +3
confirmed
2026-02-13House Democrats Launch Investigation into DOJ Congressional Surveillance 4 src
Jamie Raskin · Pramila Jayapal · Robert Garcia · Pam Bondi · +1
confirmed
2026-02-13Jim O'Neill and Mike Stuart Depart HHS in Leadership Shakeup Ahead of Midterms 3 src
Jim O'Neill · Robert F. Kennedy Jr. · U.S. Department of Health and Human Services · Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
confirmed
2026-02-12EPA Repeals 2009 Endangerment Finding on Greenhouse Gases 4 src
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency · Lee Zeldin · Donald Trump
confirmed
2026-02-11AG Bondi Photographed with Rep. Jayapal's Epstein Files Search History 4 src
Pam Bondi · Pramila Jayapal · Department of Justice · Mike Johnson · +1
confirmed
2026-02-11Trump Orders Pentagon to Purchase Coal-Fired Electricity 4 src
Donald Trump · U.S. Department of Defense · Department of Energy · Peabody Energy
confirmed
2026-02-08EPA Advances Rollback of Four PFAS Drinking Water Standards 3 src
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency · Lee Zeldin
confirmed
2026-02-02GAO Report Reveals Education Department Paid $38M to Idled Civil Rights Staff 3 src
U.S. Government Accountability Office · U.S. Department of Education · Linda McMahon · Bernie Sanders · +1
confirmed
2026-01-19EPA issues Section 7(b) Brownfield/Superfund AI datacenter reuse guidance on EO deadline — CERCLA liability retained, energy and water proximity required 6 src
Lee Zeldin · Department of Energy
confirmed
2026-01-18EPA WOTUS Rollback Moves Forward After Public Comment Period 3 src
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency · Lee Zeldin · U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
confirmed
2025-12-20Defense Secretary Hegseth Orders 'Operation Hawkeye Strike': Massive Retaliatory Strikes Against ISIS in Syria 3 src
Pete Hegseth · Donald Trump
reported
2025-12-10DOJ Leaders Attack Federal Judges for Disqualifying Lindsey Halligan as Unlawfully Appointed U.S. Attorney 4 src
Pam Bondi · Todd Blanche · Lindsey Halligan · Cameron McGowan Currie · +4
reported
2025-12-09Department of Justice Eliminates 50-Year-Old Disparate Impact Standard from Civil Rights Enforcement, Requiring Proof of Intentional Discrimination 3 src
Pam Bondi · Harmeet Dhillon · Department of Justice
confirmed
2025-12-09Federal Judge Orders Release of Ghislaine Maxwell Grand Jury Materials Under Epstein Files Transparency Act 3 src
Paul Engelmayer · Ghislaine Maxwell · Department of Justice · Donald Trump · +1
reported
2025-12-08State Department Revokes Record 85,000 Visas Including 8,000 Student Visas Since January, More Than Double 2024 Rate 3 src
State Department · U.S. Department of Homeland Security
confirmed
2025-12-08Supreme Court Signals Intent to Overturn 90-Year Precedent Protecting Independent Agency Leaders from Presidential Firing, Expanding Executive Power 3 src
U.S. Supreme Court · Donald Trump · Rebecca Slaughter · John Roberts · +3
confirmed
2025-12-06National Park Service Removes MLK Day and Juneteenth from Fee-Free Days, Adds Trump's Birthday 5 src
Donald Trump · Doug Burgum · NAACP · Angus King
confirmed
2025-12-05Federal Judge Orders Release of Epstein Grand Jury Materials from 2005-2007 Florida Investigations 4 src
Donald Trump · Pam Bondi · Todd Blanche · Alexander Acosta · +2
reported
2025-12-05RFK Jr.'s Reconstituted CDC Panel Votes to Roll Back Newborn Hepatitis B Vaccine Recommendation 5 src
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. · Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices · Donald Trump · +1
confirmed
2025-12-03State Department Orders H-1B Visa Denials for Content Moderation and Fact-Checking Workers 4 src
State Department · Marco Rubio · Tech companies
reported
2025-12-03U.S. Institute of Peace Rebranded as 'Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace' After Armed Takeover 4 src
Donald Trump · State Department · Federal Judiciary
reported
2025-12-02Trump Pardons Former Honduran President Convicted of Drug Trafficking 3 src
Donald Trump · Juan Orlando Hernández · Tim Kaine · Dick Durbin · +1
confirmed
2025-11-27USCIS Halts All Afghan Asylum Decisions After DC Shooting: Collective Punishment for Entire Nation 3 src
Joseph Edlow · Marco Rubio · Donald Trump
confirmed
2025-11-20Trump Threatens Six Democratic Congress Members with Execution for Reminding Military of Duty to Refuse Illegal Orders 5 src
Donald Trump · Elissa Slotkin · Mark Kelly · Chris DeLuzio · +7
reported
2025-11-19Interior Department Proposes Opening 1.27 Billion Acres to Offshore Drilling, Largest OCS Program in History 6 src
Doug Burgum · Department of the Interior
confirmed
2025-11-07Cornell University Agrees to Pay $60 Million and Accept Federal Oversight to Restore Research Funding 3 src
Trump Administration
reported
2025-11-05Supreme Court Hears Landmark Tariff Case, Justices Express Deep Skepticism of Trump's Emergency Powers 3 src
Donald Trump · U.S. Supreme Court
confirmed
2025-11-01PJM December 2025 capacity auction hits record $333/MW-day; data centers account for 40% ($6.5B) of total $16.4B cost 3 src confirmed
2025-10-29Supreme Court to Review Trump's Federalization of National Guard in Chicago, Nationwide Implications 3 src
Donald Trump · JB Pritzker · U.S. Supreme Court
confirmed
2025-10-27DHS Posts Halo Video Game Image Comparing Immigrants to Parasitic Aliens Requiring Extermination 4 src
U.S. Department of Homeland Security · Kaelan Dorr · Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) · White House
confirmed
2025-10-23Energy Secretary Wright invokes rare DOE-over-FERC directive authority to compel ANOPR on large-load interconnection — Docket RM26-4-000 — final action ordered by April 30 2026 6 src
Chris Wright · Department of Energy
confirmed
2025-10-18Senate Confirms Industry Lobbyist to Lead EPA Chemical Safety Division 2 src
United States Senate · Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
confirmed
2025-10-15Pentagon Chief Hegseth Blocks Military Officials From Contacting Congress Without Approval 3 src
Pete Hegseth · Steve Feinberg · Pentagon
reported
2025-10-10Analysis Finds 40+ Trump Administration Appointees With Fossil Fuel Industry Ties 2 src
Chris Wright · Doug Burgum · Trump Administration · Public Citizen
reported
2025-10-10Musk's Boring Company Accused of 800 Environmental Violations in Las Vegas 2 src
Elon Musk
reported
2025-10-07White House Provides 'Concierge Service' to Fossil Fuel Industry 2 src
Fossil Fuel Industry · White House
reported
2025-09-26Gabbard Terminates Global Trends Intelligence Report and Unit Over Climate Change Analysis 2 src
Tulsi Gabbard
reported
2025-09-26Supreme Court Allows Trump to Withhold $4B in Foreign Aid Through Illegal 'Pocket Rescission' 2 src
U.S. Supreme Court · Donald Trump · Elena Kagan · Mike Johnson · +1
reported
2025-09-23Axon Acquires Prepared for $800-900 Million, Adding AI-Powered 911 Call Processing to Complete Surveillance Pipeline 3 src
Axon · Rick Smith
confirmed
2025-09-22Supreme Court Agrees to Reconsider Humphrey's Executor, Review Trump's Power to Fire Agency Heads 2 src
U.S. Supreme Court · Donald Trump · Rebecca Slaughter · Federal Trade Commission · +1
reported
2025-09-18Education Department Inspector General Probes DOGE's Illegal Access to Student Loan Data 2 src
Elon Musk · Department of Government Efficiency
reported
2025-09-15Trump's Offshore Wind Assault Threatens 17,000+ Jobs, 99 Renewable Projects Canceled 2 src
Donald Trump · Doug Burgum · Department of Interior
reported
2025-09-11Senate Republicans Change Rules to Confirm Trump Nominees in Batches Without Individual Scrutiny 3 src
John Thune · Senate Republicans · Donald Trump
reported
2025-09-11State Department Adds 'Fidelity' Criterion, Retaliates Against Diplomats for Honest Analysis 3 src
State Department · Donald Trump
reported
2025-09-10Labor Department Inspector General Opens Investigation Into Jobs Data Manipulation 3 src
Erika McEntarfer · Donald Trump · Bureau of Labor Statistics
reported
2025-09-10Treasury Secretary Bessent Eliminates Climate Risk Assessment Panels 3 src
Scott Bessent · U.S. Treasury Department
reported
2025-09-09Trump Spending Legislation Creates $40 Billion in New Fossil Fuel Subsidies 2 src
Donald Trump · Fossil Fuel Industry
confirmed
2025-09-05Trump Signs Executive Order Renaming Pentagon as 'Department of War' 3 src
Trump · Pete Hegseth · U.S. Department of Defense
confirmed
2025-09-02Supreme Court Allows Trump to Remove FTC Commissioner, Gutting Agency Independence 2 src
John Roberts · Donald Trump · Rebecca Slaughter · U.S. Supreme Court · +1
reported
2025-08-29EPA Fires At Least 8 Employees Who Signed Letter Criticizing Trump's Environmental Rollbacks 3 src
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) · Lee Zeldin · Trump
reported
2025-08-29Federal Circuit Court Rules Trump Tariffs Violated IEEPA, Exceeded Presidential Authority 3 src
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit · Donald Trump · U.S. Supreme Court
confirmed
2025-08-29OMB Director Russell Vought Inserts Political Conditions Into 100+ Budget Accounts, Blocking Congressional Appropriations 2 src
Russell Vought · Office of Management and Budget · Trump · U.S. Congress
reported
2025-08-29Trump Invokes 'Pocket Rescission' to Claw Back $4.9 Billion in Congressionally Approved Foreign Aid 3 src
Trump · State Department · United States Agency for International Development · U.S. Congress
reported
2025-08-19State Department Revokes 6,000+ Student Visas, Targeting Palestinian Activists 3 src
State Department · Marco Rubio · U.S. Department of Homeland Security
confirmed
2025-08-11Texas Public Utility Commission sues AG Ken Paxton to block release of Bitcoin miner facility data; invokes terrorism threat to shield SB 1929 registration records from journalists 2 src
Public Utility Commission of Texas · Ken Paxton
confirmed
2025-07-29EPA Proposes Rescinding Endangerment Finding at Indiana Truck Dealership: Zeldin Calls It 'Largest Deregulatory Action in History' 6 src
Lee Zeldin · U.S. Environmental Protection Agency · Donald Trump
confirmed
2025-07-24DOE selects four federal sites for AI datacenter buildout — Idaho National Laboratory, Oak Ridge Reservation, Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant, Savannah River Site — implementing Section 3 of the July 23 EO 5 src
Chris Wright · Department of Energy
confirmed
2025-07-23Trump signs Executive Order 'Accelerating Federal Permitting of Data Center Infrastructure' — 100 MW threshold, NEPA categorical-exclusion creation directive, <50% federal-financial-assistance carve-out from NEPA 'major Federal action' 7 src
Donald Trump · Howard Lutnick · Chris Wright · Doug Burgum · +5
confirmed
2025-07-23White House releases 'Winning the Race: America's AI Action Plan' — 90+ federal policy initiatives across innovation, infrastructure, and international diplomacy pillars; companion to datacenter permitting EO 5 src
Donald Trump · David Sacks · Howard Lutnick · Chris Wright · +1
confirmed
2025-07-15Climate Programs Dismantled - NOAA Faces 27% Budget Cut 4 src
NOAA · Heritage Foundation
confirmed
2025-06-24Trump Fires Nuclear Regulatory Commissioner, Raising Concerns About Regulatory Capture 3 src
Donald Trump
confirmed
2025-06-20Texas Gov. Abbott signs SB 6 — large-load (≥75 MW) interconnection reform; mandatory remote-disconnect / curtailment for entrants post Dec 31 2025; bellwether state model for the federal FERC ANOPR 6 src
Greg Abbott · Public Utility Commission of Texas · ERCOT · Texas Legislature
confirmed
2025-05-29Federal Courts Rule Trump's IEEPA Tariffs Illegal in Multiple Cases 3 src
Donald Trump · U.S. Court of International Trade · U.S. Supreme Court
confirmed
2025-05-28HHS Cancels $766 Million Moderna Contract for H5N1 Pandemic Flu Vaccines 3 src
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. · U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
confirmed
2025-05-07Puerto Rico Loses Over $4.7 Million in FEMA Climate Resilience Funding as Federal Recovery Stalls 2 src
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) · Kristi Noem · Jenniffer González-Colón
confirmed
2025-04-02Trump Invokes Emergency Powers Act (IEEPA) to Impose Unprecedented Reciprocal Tariffs 3 src
Donald Trump · U.S. Supreme Court
confirmed
2025-03-12EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin Announces Historic Rollback of 31 Pollution Rules 5 src
Lee Zeldin · Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) · U.S. Environmental Protection Agency · Donald Trump · +1
confirmed
2025-03-12EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin Eliminates Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights 5 src
Lee Zeldin · Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) · U.S. Environmental Protection Agency · Donald Trump
confirmed
2025-02-14DOE Resumes LNG Export Approvals: Commonwealth LNG First Permit, Five Major Facilities Approved by September 7 src
Chris Wright · Department of Energy
confirmed
2025-02-01Core Scientific / CoreWeave HPC conversion reaches 590 MW across six sites, $10.2B over 12 years — landmark Bitcoin-miner-to-AI-infrastructure pivot 5 src confirmed
2025-01-20Trump Declares National Energy Emergency on First Day to Bypass Environmental Regulations 2 src
Donald Trump
confirmed
2025-01-20Trump Signs 'Unleashing American Energy' EO on Day One: Lifts LNG Export Pause, Opens Federal Lands, Targets EV Mandates 5 src
Donald Trump · Chris Wright · Doug Burgum
confirmed
2025-01-17RFK Jr. Absent from CDC Bird Flu Pandemic Preparedness Exercise During Transition 2 src
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. · Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
confirmed
2024-02-08Michael Mann Wins Defamation Lawsuit After 12-Year Battle Against Climate Deniers 4 src
Michael Mann · Competitive Enterprise Institute
confirmed
2023-09-06Riot Platforms discloses $31.7M in ERCOT power and demand-response credits for August 2023 — record single-month curtailment payout to a Bitcoin miner 2 src
ERCOT
confirmed
2023-08-08Maui Wildfires Kill Over 100 as Corporate Water Diversions and Land Development Create Tinderbox; Governor Suspends Native Water Rights After Disaster 5 srcconfirmed
2023-05-30Texas SB 1751 — which would have capped Bitcoin miner demand-response participation at 10% — dies in House State Affairs Committee after passing Senate 30–1; industry lobbying preserves unlimited subsidy access 4 src
Texas Legislature
confirmed
2022-10-12Senators Markey and Warren open congressional inquiry into ERCOT subsidies for Bitcoin miners; cite $9.5M Riot July 2022 payment exceeding Bitcoin revenue; project up to $170M in annual miner payouts 2 src
Ed Markey · Elizabeth Warren · Sheldon Whitehouse · Dick Durbin · +1
confirmed
2022-06-30Supreme Court Establishes Major Questions Doctrine in West Virginia v. EPA, Limiting Regulatory Power 5 src
U.S. Supreme Court · John Roberts · Clarence Thomas · Samuel Alito · +9
confirmed
2022-01-13Navient Settles for $1.85 Billion Over Student Loan Servicing Fraud - Steered Borrowers Into Costly Forbearances 3 src
Letitia James
confirmed
2022-01-01Anduril AI-Powered Drones Deployed to Ukraine Since 2022 2 src
Anduril Industries · Ukraine · U.S. Department of Defense · Palmer Luckey
confirmed
2021-01-15Russell Vought Founds Center for Renewing America, Christian Nationalist Policy Shop for Trump Return 3 src
Russ Vought
confirmed
2020-08-25Secretary of State Pompeo Delivers Historic RNC Speech from Jerusalem Rooftop, Violating Hatch Act After Changing State Department Policy 4 src
Mike Pompeo · Donald Trump · Office of Special Counsel
confirmed
2020-07-01CBP Awards Anduril $25 Million for Autonomous Surveillance Towers at Border 2 src
Anduril Industries · U.S. Customs and Border Protection · U.S. Department of Homeland Security · Palmer Luckey
confirmed
2020-05-15Trump Dismisses State Department Inspector General Steve Linick 3 src
Donald Trump · Mike Pompeo · Steve Linick · Nancy Pelosi
confirmed
2020-02-28Trump Calls Coronavirus "Their New Hoax" at South Carolina Rally 3 src
Donald Trump
confirmed
2019-11-20Sondland Testifies - "Was There a Quid Pro Quo? The Answer Is Yes. Everyone Was in the Loop." 3 src
Gordon Sondland · Mike Pompeo · Mike Pence · Mick Mulvaney · +2
confirmed
2019-11-15Ambassador Yovanovitch Testifies on Giuliani Smear Campaign and Removal from Ukraine Post 3 src
Rudy Giuliani · Donald Trump · Lev Parnas · Igor Fruman
confirmed
2019-10-30Interior IG Investigates Bernhardt for California Water Decision Benefiting Former Client Westlands 3 src
David Bernhardt
confirmed