President Donald Trump is moving to unwind one of the most consequential regulatory decisions in the modern era by advancing the repeal of the 2009 endangerment finding, the rule that declared carbon dioxide a dangerous pollutant, opening the door to sweeping federal climate mandates.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin has led the effort, calling the rule both a legal and scientific stretch that turned into a bureaucrat's dream and a nightmare for ordinary Americans.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt described the action as the largest deregulatory move in American history, with a senior White House official confirming the action would be taken within days.
How Carbon Dioxide Became the Villain
Carbon dioxide (CO2) isn't a bit player in the scheme of things: it sustains life and is a critical part of the photosynthetic process. Crops, forests, and grasses depend on it, yet federal regulators transformed that same compound into the Dark Side of the Force using regulatory language that treated correlation as causation.
Climate patterns have continually shifted over the centuries due to solar cycles, ocean currents, and volcanic activity, forces that have existed long before SUVs or power plants.
Zeldin argues that any endangerment findings elevate models over measurable outcomes, ignoring the limits of human influence on global systems.
- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposes to rescind the 2009 Endangerment Finding and repeal all greenhouse gas (GHG) emission standards for light-duty, medium-duty, and heavy-duty vehicles and engines established under Clean Air Act (CAA) Section 202(a) since 2010.
- EPA's primary rationale is that CAA Section 202(a) does not authorize the agency to regulate GHG emissions based on global climate change concerns, asserting that the CAA was designed to address air pollutants that contribute to dangerous air pollution "through local or regional exposures" rather than global atmospheric effects.
U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright reinforced that position, citing energy reliability and security, and warned that forcing any transition would weaken both.
The Cost of Mandates on Families and Workers
That regulatory framework, built on the endangerment finding, imposed trillion-dollar compliance costs across transportation, manufacturing, and energy. Electric vehicle mandates pushed automakers away from consumer demand while increasing sticker prices.
Indiana Governor Mike Braun and Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita have cited job losses tied to those mandates, especially in energy-producing regions.
U.S. Rep. Jim Baird emphasized that Americans should choose their vehicles based on needs, not federal pressure, while Indiana Secretary of Energy and Natural Resources Suzanne Jaworowski supported a repeal as a step toward affordability and mobility.
While accomplishing EPA’s core mission of protecting the environment, the agency is committed to fulfilling President Trump’s promise to unleash American energy, lower cost of living for Americans, revitalize the American auto industry, restore the rule of law, and give power back to states to make their own decisions.
“Today is the greatest day of deregulation our nation has seen. We are driving a dagger straight into the heart of the climate change religion to drive down cost of living for American families, unleash American energy, bring auto jobs back to the U.S. and more,” said EPA Administrator Zeldin.
“Alongside President Trump, we are living up to our promises to unleash American energy, lower costs for Americans, revitalize the American auto industry, and work hand-in-hand with our state partners to advance our shared mission,” added EPA Administrator Zeldin.
These historic actions will roll back trillions in regulatory costs and hidden “taxes” on U.S. families. As a result of these announcements, the cost of living for American families will decrease. It will be more affordable to purchase a car, heat homes, and operate a business. It will be more affordable to bring manufacturing into local communities while individuals widely benefit from the tangible economic impacts.
Ending those mandates is projected to save American households about $54 billion each year.
The Environmental Toll of Green Technology
Wind turbines kill birds in large numbers through blade strikes, including raptors that are protected under federal law, with estimates placing an annual number of bird deaths in the hundreds of thousands.
Offshore wind construction introduces intense underwater noise, disrupting whale migration and feeding behavior. Adding further stress to marine mammals is the noise and pressure from pile driving and increased vessel traffic.
Solar technology carries its own footprint. Mining for silicon, silver, copper, and rare-earth minerals leaves terrible open-pit scars and toxic tailings. There's tremendous reliance on manufacturers of hydrofluoric acid and heavy metals, yet when solar panels have run their course, they often end up in landfills, where cadmium and lead leach into soil and groundwater.
Law, Power, and a Course Correction
The original endangerment finding leaned on a 2007 Supreme Court ruling that allowed greenhouse gases to be regulated under the Clean Air Act.
Trump's team hasn't disputed the ruling, but they've challenged how far regulators have stretched it. U.S. emissions represent a quickly shrinking share of global output, while competitors expand production with restraint.
Critics like Peter Zalzal of the Environmental Defense Fund and the climate G.O.A.T. himself, Michael Mann, argue the repeal risks public health. States, such as Oregon, claim environmental harm, yet the Trump administration counters with three points: energy independence, prosperity, and the view that realistic policy better protects people than mandates written to scare them.
“What they came in with wasn’t a road map, it was a wrecking ball,” said Miles Keogh, executive director of the National Association of Clean Air Agencies. “They got a lot done, but what they got done was taking stuff down, breaking stuff. You can do a lot of that fast.”
Next year will begin to reveal if the rules that rise from Trump’s regulatory demolition in 2025 survive judicial review.
By front-loading proposals in his first year, the president tried to position his administration for an aggressive defense of each new rule — all the way to the Supreme Court. If they’re upheld, it could be very difficult for future presidents to introduce similar standards without new action from Congress.
“Our deregulatory agenda is historic, and will deliver historic results for the American people, unlike the Biden administration’s half-baked rules that strangled the economy and drove up costs while failing to achieve real environmental progress,” said Brigit Hirsch, the EPA press secretary.
Final Thoughts
Along with death and taxes, climate and politics change. Only one of those responds to evidence and accountability. Trump’s move restores balance by separating environmental stewardship from ideological enforcement.
Freedom, not coercion, is the driving force behind the innovation that America thrives on when science serves truth instead of budget.
The fight over climate policy never centered on weather patterns alone. Power, control, and economic leverage sat at the core from the beginning. PJ Media VIP keeps exposing how regulatory regimes grow quietly while families pay the bill. Support independent, fearless analysis by joining VIP today.
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