Hi, it's Ken Cook from EWG. I'm here in Washington and we're here to get ready to fight.  It already feels like Trump's Washington. That feeling reminds us of what we went through during his first term where we saw a massive assault on environmental protection. We haven't always been happy with everything that happened over the last four years with the Biden administration.

And we have called that out. We will always do that.

We don't favor Democrats or Republicans. We favor environmental protection. We favor human health. We favor your health.

But I have to tell you, this is a very, very different situation that we're facing now. Different than we've ever faced before.

We have every reason to think that appointees are, for the most part, here to tear down the ability of the government to do its job, starting with EPA. One of the first announcements was an EPA administrator, and he was instructed to deregulate Environmental protections. So we know that's coming.

And for whatever reason, you may have voted for President Trump. That's your right.

We're not here to suggest who you should vote for. But we will say that when you vote for someone, you get the whole package. There is no such thing as a single-issue politician.

And so what we're seeing now is the consequences of someone coming to power, using that power in ways that we predicted would happen, to deregulate the economy, weaken environmental law, and weaken food safety.

Now, there's plenty that we can do as individuals. EWG has tens of millions of people who come to us every year, seeking information so you can protect your family yourself.

You can protect your health yourself, and that's vitally important to do. But there are some things we can't do for ourselves.

There are some things we can't shop or behave our way out of. Those belong in the realm of policy and politics.

So we're here for the fight. We wake up every morning ready to fight. We have for 31 years.

We're fighting against companies that don't do the right thing when they make their products. We're fighting against polluters. We're fighting against them and won't ever stop.

But now we're facing a really serious challenge that's structural across the entire government at the federal level. We'll be pushing for advances at the state level to make up for what doesn't happen here in Washington.

We'll be giving you advice so you can protect yourself without having to depend on the government, as ever. That's who we are.

But I'll tell you, I'm very concerned about what we're seeing already with this Trump administration. We're not counting on any help with our agenda from the inside.

If we're proven wrong, that would be great. But in the short term, we're preparing for the worst.

I'm asking you for your feedback, for your help, as we do that. Because my feeling is, we're in for a long battle.

On this show, we're going to be your eyes and ears on Trump's Washington. And we're going to be reporting from the front lines of the fight.

So, please keep tuning in.

Ken Cook Is Having Another Episode every other week.

@kencookspodcast

www.ewg.org

@environmentalworkinggroup