Anne Gorsuch Resigns EPA After Contempt of Congress: Regulatory Capture Exposed

Anne Gorsuch Burford resigns as EPA Administrator after becoming the first cabinet-level official in American history held in contempt of Congress. Gorsuch had refused to turn over Superfund records related to a $1.6 billion hazardous waste cleanup program, citing executive privilege on Reagan’s orders. Her 22-month tenure exemplifies industry capture of environmental regulation: she cut EPA’s budget by 22%, reduced enforcement cases against polluters, relaxed Clean Air Act regulations, and facilitated spraying of restricted pesticides. The scandal forces 21 EPA officials out of the agency.

Gorsuch’s ideological mission was explicit: shrink the “too big, too wasteful” federal government and reduce restrictions on business. Her approach to environmental protection prioritized corporate profits over public health, with enforcement actions against polluters plummeting while toxic waste sites proliferated. The Superfund scandal revealed systematic mismanagement of hazardous waste cleanup, with political manipulation of cleanup priorities to benefit Republican congressional candidates and retaliation against career EPA scientists who objected to industry-friendly policies.

In her 1986 memoir, Gorsuch expressed bitterness at Reagan abandoning her, writing that he “jettisoned me and my people” when criticism touched the presidency. Her son Neil Gorsuch later became a Supreme Court Justice known for hostility to federal regulatory agencies, suggesting a family legacy of anti-regulatory ideology. The Gorsuch EPA established a template for regulatory capture that would be repeated in future Republican administrations: appoint industry advocates to regulatory positions, slash enforcement budgets, claim deregulation serves “freedom,” and abandon agencies to scandal when public outrage becomes politically inconvenient.