On February 12, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin and Trump announced the overturning of the 2009 endangerment finding, which is the basis for the regulation of carbon dioxide and five additional greenhouse gasses.
Without evidence or clarification, Zeldin stated that the endangerment finding cost the American economy trillions of dollars, and that, by removing it, he is saving normal Americans money. As Trumpfile readers know, this is a lie. The endangerment finding allows the federal government to regulate fuel emissions standards, which actually saves money for normal people.
Although Zeldin hyped up the overturning of the finding as a monumental shift in policy, experts have asserted that the effects of the change will be relatively muted, because the Trump administration has already gutted many environmental provisions. However, if courts rule that Congress is needed to alter “significant regulatory actions” amid efforts to challenge this recent EPA action, it could prevent future presidents from reinstating the endangerment finding and other measures. Regardless, this step taken by the EPA should not come as a surprise, as the agency proposed to do so in July 2025.
Furthermore, the removal of the endangerment finding can backfire on the automobile and energy companies it was designed to benefit.
“When the EPA vacates the space legally and says we’re not going to regulate, we’re out of this game, then that not only creates room for other state and local governments to do their regulation, but it also creates room for legal claims against companies for not acting on climate, because they can’t say, well, we’re just following the regulations that the federal government has created,” he added.
ABC
The attorneys general of California, New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts, as well as organizations such as the Natural Resources Defense Council, are challenging this decision and court, claiming that it violates the Clean Air Act, which regulates polluters to protect public health.
The endangerment finding was made during the administration of former President Barack Obama. Contrary to Zeldin’s implication that the policy was enacted by bureaucrats, it was put into place by Obama’s pick to lead the EPA, Lisa Jackson, after “380,000 public comments and two public hearings.” It was also based on a preponderance of scientific evidence. Going back even further, Zeldin’s overturning of the endangerment finding flies in the face of the 2007 Supreme Court ruling that established that the EPA “could regulate greenhouse gases from motor vehicles under the 1970 Clean Air Act because those gases are air pollutants.” The Inflation Reduction Act codified this Supreme Court decision into law.
Oil and gas PACs provided $11,089,723 to Republicans during the 2024 election cycle.
