A “scarcely visited” museum dedicated to the history of the Environmental Protection Agency’s stewardship of liberal issues such as “environmental justice” and climate change will be the next Biden-era initiative to face the chopping block, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin says. 

“The Biden Admin spent $4M in tax dollars on a museum to tell a selective story of @EPA history,” Mr. Zeldin shared online. “It costs $600K per year to operate even though only 1,909 external visitors came through in the last 9 months. Today we are closing it.” 

The museum was opened in May 2024 by the Biden administration and was praised by the then-EPA administrator, Michael Regan, as a demonstration of “our nation’s work to protect public health and the environment.” Mr. Regan, during the museum’s ribbon cutting ceremony, declared that the EPA’s work with “state, local and Tribal partners” has “changed people’s lives, it has restored our connection with the environment and our planet, and it will ensure that future generations will continue to have clean air to breathe, safe water to drink, and clean land to live, work and play on.” 

The exhibition resides on the first floor of the EPA’s headquarters, a block away from the Smithsonian’s Natural History and American History museums on the National Mall at Washington, D.C.

Despite the prime foot traffic location, however, the museum has failed to draw many visitors. According to Mr. Zeldin, American taxpayers paid a whopping $315 per attendee — of which there were fewer than 2,000 in total. Museum upkeep includes expenses like $123,000 for landscaping, $123,000 for utilities, and $54,000 for artifact storage.

Mr. Zeldin also criticized the museum for “conveniently” omitting “any mention of President Trump’s first administration” and for acting as a “shrine to environmental justice.” The EPA head declared: “I have pledged to be an exceptional steward of taxpayer dollars, so this shrine to EJ and climate change will now be shut down for good.”

Mr. Zeldin promised, however, to educate the American public about “ the amazing work of our agency to provide cleaner, healthier, and safer land, air, and water” — without the half-a-million-dollar annual price tag. “ We are ending the practice of burning tax dollars on pet projects that do nothing to help this agency achieve our mission of protecting human health and the environment,” he added.