President-elect Donald Trump has named a former consultant for his businesses who wrote a book calling Trump an “environmental hero” as the head of a new federal environmental task force.
“I am pleased to announce that Ed Russo, an Environmental Expert, will lead our Environmental Advisory Task Force, which will advise my Administration on initiatives to create great jobs and protect our natural resources, by following my policy of CLEAN AIR and CLEAN WATER,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social Friday evening.
“Together, we will achieve American Energy DOMINANCE, rebuild our Economy, and DRILL, BABY, DRILL,” he added, referring to his planned major boost of oil extraction in the nation.
Russo worked for years as an environmental consultant for Trump’s businesses, including on his golf courses in the U.S. and Europe, according to E&E News,
He’s also the author of a 2016 self-published book called “Donald J. Trump: An Environmental Hero.“
Russo is currently CEO and co-founder of RussKap Water, based in North Miami Beach, which uses “atmospheric water generators” to create drinking water from the humidity in the air.
When he was previously CEO of WaterGen USA, that company was granted an EPA research contract in 2018 during Trump’s first term in the White House.
Russo told E&E News in 2017 in an interview during Trump’s last administration that the then-president was a “staunch supporter of clean air and clean water,” though he noted that Trump has a ”practical approach to environmental protection,” which he didn’t detail.
Trump rolled back environmental protections the last time he was in office, and plans to roll back the Biden administration’s fuel efficiency standards for vehicles this time around.
The president-elect denies climate change exists, and withdrew the country during his last administration from the Paris Accords, which set limits on global warming. He has called climate change an “expensive hoax” created by the Chinese.
Trump promotes fossil fuels, a key cause of climate change, and opposes alternative energy, including wind power, which he has repeatedly falsely claimed shuts off TVs mid-program when the wind dies down. His mantra at campaign events was “drill, baby, drill,” and opened up federal land to drilling the last time he was in office.
Trump on Friday also announced that Bill Briggs will serve as deputy administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration, which provides loans after disasters.
Briggs worked in the agency’s Office of Capital Access during Trump’s first term.
