Trump scraps landmark climate finding, calls it 'largest deregulation in US history'

President Donald Trump announced Thursday the repeal of the 2009 endangerment finding, the scientific determination that has served for nearly two decades as the legal underpinning of federal climate regulation. Flanked by EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin at the White House, Trump hailed the move as "the single largest deregulatory action in American history."

$1.3 trillion in regulatory relief

Trump asserted that eliminating the finding and associated emissions standards for vehicles and engines would erase more than $1.3 trillion in regulatory costs and significantly reduce automobile prices. "You're going to get a better car. You're going to get a car that starts easier, a car that works better for a lot less money," he said. The endangerment finding, established under the Clean Air Act during the Obama administration, provided the federal government with legal authority to regulate carbon dioxide, methane and other greenhouse gas emissions.

Legal battle imminent

The decision is almost certain to face immediate and fierce legal challenges. Environmental organizations and Democratic-led states are expected to argue that the repeal disregards both settled science and Supreme Court precedent. Gretchen Goldman, president of the Union of Concerned Scientists, condemned the move, stating: "By scrapping vehicle global warming pollution standards today, the Trump administration has co-signed the release of more than 7 billion tons of planet-warming emissions nationally in the decades ahead." She added that "sacrificing people's health, safety and futures for polluters' profits is unconscionable" and vowed to challenge the decision in court.

Regulatory rollback and climate policy

Thursday's action represents the most consequential climate deregulation of Trump's second term, effectively dismantling the scientific and legal basis for federal limits on power plant emissions, tailpipe pollution and industrial greenhouse gas output. While Trump has long criticized climate regulations as economically burdensome, the repeal of the endangerment finding itself—rather than simply revising specific rules—marks a fundamental shift in U.S. environmental policy. The coming legal confrontation will determine whether the executive branch possesses unilateral authority to rescind a scientific determination without congressional action or judicial review.