President Donald Trump and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced the formal rescission of the 2009 Endangerment Finding on greenhouse gases. Trump emphasized during the press conference that the Obama-era determination “had no basis whatsoever in the law.”
Legal Developments Leading to Rescission
The decision follows the Supreme Court’s July 2024 ruling in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, which eliminated the Chevron Deference doctrine from 1984. That doctrine had required federal courts to defer to regulatory agencies’ interpretations of ambiguous statutes.
In 2009, EPA officials classified carbon dioxide as an air pollutant under the Clean Air Act, drawing on the Supreme Court’s 2007 Massachusetts v. EPA decision. Zeldin, in a post-announcement interview with CBS News, cited the Loper Bright ruling and described the 2009 finding as involving “all sorts of mental leaps.”
Administrators pursued the rescission through the formal regulatory process under the Administrative Procedures Act, supported by recent court decisions. This approach aims to create lasting changes resistant to reversal by future administrations.
Reactions from Critics
Climate advocates responded swiftly with concerns. ABC News anchor David Muir opened his evening broadcast by stating, “President Trump has repealed U.S. power to regulate climate in this country. The President officially rejecting the science… this is not only dangerous for the environment but for your health.”
New York Times climate writer Zeke Housfather posted on X that “the scientific understanding of human-driven climate change is much stronger today than it was in 2009 when the EPA first issued the endangerment finding. There is no scientific basis for the Trump administration’s decision to repeal it.”
