"Court Tosses Challenge To EPA Removal Of Scientists From Advisory Boards

"A federal judge Tuesday dismissed a lawsuit challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) policy of removing scientists with EPA grants from its advisory boards.

Public health groups, led by Physicians for Responsible Medicine, and scientists who say the policy affected them, argued that then-EPA chief Scott Pruitt violated federal ethics standards in 2017 with his directive that people who receive EPA grants have to choose between grants and serving on advisory committees.

Judge Trevor McFadden, a Trump appointee to the District Court for the District of Columbia, said the law gives the EPA wide discretion when naming advisory board members."

Timothy Cama reports for The Hill February 12, 2019.