Later this month, the Trump administration is expected to unveil its plan for cutting water use in the Colorado River Basin — an intervention that’s necessary because the states haven’t been able to reach an agreement on limiting consumption. The cuts will probably hit Arizona farms and cities especially hard, although Southern Californians should brace themselves too. After a century of rampant development — and now a 26-year, fossil fueled megadrought — the American West is running low on water.
Podmore’s book offers a perspective-shifting look at a reservoir central to the crisis.
Currently just one-quarter full, Lake Powell is frighteningly close to “dead pool,” the point at which water can no longer pass through Glen Canyon Dam and downstream to Lake Mead — a key storage vessel for Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Phoenix. Finding a way to boost water levels at Lake Powell is absolutely crucial.
Or is it? As water levels have fallen, incredible canyon ecosystems that were drowned by the dam in the 1960s have sprung back to life with remarkable speed — a story that Podmore documents in his book. He also traces Powell’s complex history and politics, making a thoughtful, nuanced case that its future needs to look different than its past — and that today’s environmental crusaders could stand to learn from the people who built Glen Canyon Dam, not just the activists who tried to stop them.
If that sounds interesting, join Sammy Roth and Podmore on Tuesday, 7/28 at 4 p.m. PT/5 p.m. MT for a conversation about his book. You can register for the Zoom here. Sammy will ask Zak some questions, and then we’ll have an audience Q&A.
Kevin Lilly is the acting assistant secretary for fish, wildlife, and parks at the Interior Department—a position that oversees both the National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Lilly is a Texas wealth manager with no conservation experience. He holds the acting position illegally.
Lilly resigned his position as the chair of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission in order to join the Trump administration as a political appointee. Lilly founded Avalon Advisors, the “largest privately owned wealth management firm in Texas,” according to Southwestern University.
S. 4448, Accelerating Broadband Permits Act of 2026
S. 4691, Disaster Communications Coordination and Preparedness Act
S. 4802, Hurricane Hunter Aircraft Recapitalization Act
Nominees:
Thomas B. Chapman, of Maryland, to be a Member of the National Transportation Safety Board.
Edward Eppler, of Connecticut, to be Chief Financial Officer, Department of Transportation.
Karen Jean Hedlund, of New York, to be a Member of the Surface Transportation Board.
Brien Lorenze, of Virginia, to be a Commissioner of the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
Karen Sessions, of Texas, to be a Commissioner of the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
David Cummins, of Virginia, to be Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration.
Cummins worked as a senior vice president of the Citizen Services Business Group at Serco, a government contractor that works with local and federal agencies. He was the Director of Operations Management for the 2002 Salt Lake Olympic organizing committee. Cummins holds an MBA from the University of Michigan Business School, an MA in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a BA in Political Science from Messiah College.
On Wednesday, July 22, 2026, at 10:00 a.m., in room 1324 Longworth House Office Building, the Committee on Natural Resources will meet to consider:
H.R. 309 (Rep. Nehls), “National Law Enforcement Officers Remembrance, Support and Community Outreach Act”
H.R. 1693 (Rep. Hageman), To redesignate the National Historic Trails Interpretive Center in Casper, Wyoming, as the “Barbara L. Cubin National Historic Trails Interpretive Center”.
H.R. 4219 (Rep. Case), “National Wildlife Refuge System Invasive Species Strike Team Act of 2025”
H.R. 4931 (Rep. Murphy of NC), “National Park System Long-Term Lease Investment Act”
H.R. 8121 (Rep. Plaskett), To designate the Christiansted Bandstand at the Christiansted National Historic Site, St. Croix, Virgin Islands, as the “Peter G. Thurland, Sr., Bandstand”.
H.R. 8454 (Rep. McClintock), To provide for the transfer of administrative jurisdiction over certain Federal land in the State of California, and for other purposes.
All bills are expected to move by unanimous consent.
Markup of the Full Committee to consider the following:
H.R. 6610, Pharmacists Fight Back [in Federal Employee Health Benefit Plans Act]
H.R. 9720, D.C. Taxing Authority Review Act, To require a resolution of approval by Congress of Acts of the District of Columbia with respect to title 47 of the District of Columbia Code (Taxation, Licensing, Permits, Assessments, and Fees) or which otherwise impose or increase a tax or fee (ANS)
H.R. 9725, Restoring Integrity and Efficiency to Inspector General Oversight Act of 2025, to abolish the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency and transfer oversight to OMB (ANS)
H.R. 9643, Comment Integrity and Management Act, to report identical or similar comments on proposed regulations as a single comment (ANS)
H.R. 9741, To name the DC Tuition Assistance Grant program the “Eleanor Holmes Norton District of Columbia Tuition Assistance Grant Program”
On Wednesday, July 22, 2026, at 10:00am ET, the Committee on House Administration will hold a hearing titled, “Oversight of the Smithsonian: Radical Revisionism at the National Museum of American History.”
Hal Duncan, of Texas, to be Deputy Director of the Office of Management and Budget
Brian Cavanaugh, of Maryland, to be Under Secretary for Management, Department of Homeland Security
Cameron “Cam” Hamilton, of Virginia, to be Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security
Charles Baldis, of Virginia, to be Special Counsel, Office of Special Counsel
Bradford Pentony Wilson, of New Jersey, to be Archivist of the United States
Jeffrey Brodsky, and William Gallo, of Florida, both to be a Governor of the United States Postal Service
James J. Woodruff III, of Florida, to be Chairman of the Merit Systems Protection Board
Charlton Allen, of North Carolina, to be General Counsel of the Federal Labor Relations Authority
James Andrew Crowell IV, and Stuart Gordon Nash, both to be an Associate Judge of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals
Christopher Michael De Bono, Michael Christopher DiLorenzo, Sharon E. Goodie, Craig Edward Leen, Christine Michelle Macey, and John Barlow Timmer, each to be an Associate Judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.
Baldis is the acting Special Counsel for the Office of Special Counsel. He was senior counsel on the Senate Judiciary Committee under Republican leadership including Sens. Charles Grassley of Iowa and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. The previous nominee was the white supremacist Paul Ingrassia.
Wilson is a conservative movement activist, serving as a researcher for Chief Justices Warren Burger and William Rehnquist and as Executive Director of the James Madison Program at Princeton University, a right-wing institute financed by conservative foundations and billionaires such as the John M. Olin Foundation, the Bradley Foundation, and Steve Forbes.
Woodruff is a professor at a small online law school that is owned by the for-profit distance-learning Baker College and was a lawyer for the Air Force. He was confirmed to the MSPB in October 2025. His father is a prominent conservative legal activist.
Cam Hamilton briefly served as acting FEMA Administrator in 2025.
Crowell and Nash are among the candidates recommended by the D.C. Judicial Nominations Commission for the vacancies on the D.C. Court of Appeals.
De Bono, DiLorenzo, Goodie, Leen, Macey, and Timmer were among the candidatesrecommended at various points by the D.C. Judicial Nominations Commission for the vacancies on the D.C. Superior Court.
Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee