President Trump has said he instructed Environmental Protection Agency head Secretary Lee Zeldin to "immediately go back to my Environmental Orders" from his first term in office, scrapping alterations made by the Biden administration including on water regulations.
Newsweek contacted the White House press office and the Environmental Protection Agency for comment by email on Tuesday outside of regular office hours.
Why It Matters
During his first term as president, from January 2017-21, Trump "reversed, revoked or otherwise rolled back" nearly 100 environmental regulations according to an analysis by The New York Times including weakening legislation on pollution, protecting wildlife and energy standards.
Supporters will argue Trump's move will help stimulate economic growth by cutting unnecessary bureaucracy while critics will claim he is causing damage to the environment, and could harm public health.
What To Know
In his Truth Social post published on Tuesday morning, Trump said he had instructed recently confirmed Environmental Protection Agency Secretary Lee Zeldin to "immediately go back to my Environmental Orders, which were terminated by Crooked Joe Biden, on Water Standards and Flow" concerning toilets, washing machines, dishwashers, sinks and showers.
The president also said he told Zeldin he wants to "go back to the common sense standards on LIGHTBULBS" from his first administration, adding: "I look forward to signing these orders."
The first Trump administration passed a number of measures reducing environmental protections, including stripping safeguards from more than half of America's wetlands, removing restrictions on power plant mercury emissions and weakening carbon dioxide emission restraints imposed under President Obama.
After assuming office in January 2021, Biden immediately ordered a review of environmental regulation changes overseen by his predecessor, with many of them subsequently being reversed.
Most notably Biden re-committed the U.S. to the Paris Climate Agreement, which aims to keep global surface temperature rises below 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit above pre-industrial levels, though Trump reversed this move shortly after returning to office in January 2025.
Following his inauguration on January 20 Trump also instructed the Army Corps of Engineers to release billions of gallons of water from two reservoirs in California's Central Valley. The president suggested this would help firefighting efforts in Los Angeles, though this was denied by local authorities.
Trump also signed an executive order ending federal government efforts to replace plastic straws with paper ones.
What People Are Saying
In a Truth Social post, Trump wrote: "I am hereby instructing Secretary Lee Zeldin to immediately go back to my Environmental Orders, which were terminated by Crooked Joe Biden, on Water Standards and Flow pertaining to SINKS, SHOWERS, TOILETS, WASHING MACHINES, DISHWASHERS, etc., and to likewise go back to the common sense standards on LIGHTBULBS, that were put in place by the Trump Administration, but terminated by Crooked Joe. I look forward to signing these Orders. THANK YOU!!!"
In a statement published before Trump's latest announcement, the Sierra Club, an environmental activist group with a presence in all 50 states, condemned the president's policies thus far.
They said: "Donald Trump is endangering our health, our safety, and our future. In closing the EPA's Office of Environmental Justice and shuttering the DOJ's Environment and Natural Resources Division, he is stripping American families and communities of critical protections that hold corporate polluters accountable.
"The American people deserve an administration that will put people over polluters."
What Happens Next
The Republicans currently have a slim majority in both chambers of Congress, meaning Trump is likely to have the necessary support to push through any legislative changes impacting the environment provided he doesn't alienate a significant faction of GOP lawmakers.
A rolling back of Environmental Protection Agency regulations would almost certainly be condemned by environmental campaigners but could be welcomed by some business interests.
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About the writer
James Bickerton is a Newsweek U.S. News reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is covering U.S. politics and world ... Read more