Environmental Protection Agency
US federal agency, created in 1970, that writes and enforces national environmental rules.
A 14 December 2015 Government Accountability Office ruling that the EPA ran covert propaganda is the main recent precedent as a federal court weighs five DHS-funded television ads it froze on 11 October 2026.
Last refreshed: 18 October 2026
Timeline for Environmental Protection Agency
Mentioned in: Judge Rochon bars five DHS-funded TV ads
US Midterms 2026Background
The Environmental Protection Agency, the federal regulator for air, water and chemicals, enters the 2026 midterms as a precedent. On 11 October 2026 a federal judge froze five Homeland Security spots, each tagged as government-paid. A 2015 finding against the EPA is the main recent case of an agency breaking the federal ban on publicity or propaganda.
President Richard Nixon created the agency by Reorganization Plan No. 3, effective 2 December 1970, to bring federal pollution-control work under one roof. William Ruckelshaus took office as its first administrator in December 1970.
On 14 December 2015 the Government Accountability Office ruled that the EPA had engaged in covert propaganda with a Thunderclap social-media message backing its Waters of the United States rule. The message did not tell readers that the agency wrote it. The finding carried no injunction, and the campaign had already run.
When was the EPA created?
Did the EPA break the law with social-media propaganda?
Why is the EPA cited in the DHS ads case?
Written with AI from Lowdown's published reporting. Not individually reviewed by an editor. Updated 18 October 2026. Editorial standards.