Ed Markey — Jul 18, 2026

← Findings

In a Jul. 18, 2026 letter to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, Sen. Ed Markey wrote: "As smoke from wildfires in Canada crosses our northern border, threatening public health and the economy across the Midwest and Eastern United States, I write with serious concern regarding the administration's ongoing response and future preparedness. I urge the federal government to develop a comprehensive plan, in collaboration with the Canadian government, to manage this and future cross-border wildfire smoke events as they become more frequent and severe." He noted that "the central federal message so far has been President Trump's announcement that he will add the cost of wildfire pollution to the tariffs that he wishes to assess on Canada," and called for updating the U.S.–Canada Air Quality Agreement to include PM2.5. He also wrote that cross-border smoke events, like the climate crisis itself, reflect the evolving scale of climate change and its impacts, and urged working "together with our neighbors – not against them."

Codes

• Disaster Mention yes — Letter about Canadian wildfire smoke impacting the U.S.
• Climate Connection yes — Links more frequent/severe smoke events to climate change.
• Mentioned Republican Obstruction of Climate Action partial — Criticizes Trump tariff/blame-Canada framing as the federal message; not a specific climate-legislation obstruction claim.