As state governments continue to increase their capacity for creating and enforcing environmental regulation, there has been growing discussion about the role of federalism in advancing environmental protection. Under the second Donald Trump Administration, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) expressed its renewed commitment to advancing cooperative federalism and its desire to partner with states; however, significant questions remain about how these two levels of government can align their priorities to both advance and streamline environmental protection. On October 7, 2025, ELI convened current and former state environmental officials for a discussion on cooperative federalism, how to ensure adequate funding in delegated and authorized primacy states, the importance of continuing to support focused and foundational scientific research, and the potential nexus between the reduction in EPA’s workforce and loosened oversight. Here we present a transcript of the discussion, which has been edited for style, clarity, and space considerations.