Trump Scraps Bedrock of Climate Rules | Bloomberg Law

Trump Administration's Climate Policy Rollback

• ⚠️ The Trump administration has taken its most aggressive step to roll back climate regulations by revoking the "endangerment finding," an EPA ruling from 2009 that identified greenhouse gases as a threat to public health and welfare.
• 💬 President Trump dismisses climate change concerns as a "scam" unrelated to public health, while former EPA administrator Gina McCarthy asserts the finding was a scientific decision mandated by a Supreme Court ruling.
• 🌍 Environmental experts warn that revoking this finding could have generational impacts and accelerate the negative effects of climate change, prompting blue states, environmental groups, and healthcare organizations to plan lawsuits.

The Endangerment Finding and Legal Challenges

• 🔑 The endangerment finding is considered the keystone for all EPA actions regulating greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act.
• ⚖️ The administration's stated reason for rescinding is that EPA lacks explicit Congressional authority for such a significant issue, invoking the "major questions doctrine" to challenge the agency's power.
• 🎯 Opponents will likely argue against the revocation based on the 2007 Supreme Court decision in Massachusetts vs. EPA, which affirmed EPA's authority to regulate greenhouse gases as air pollutants.

Broader Implications of Deregulation

• 📈 The Trump 2.0 administration is pursuing deregulatory actions much faster and more aggressively than its first term, with over 40 actions already taken.
• 📊 While the revocation of the endangerment finding is rated as an "eight out of ten" for potential environmental damage, other efforts like solar, wind, electric vehicles, and energy efficiency continue to combat climate change.
• 🗺️ This federal action does not affect states' ability to regulate stationary pollution sources, but it fuels a "red state, blue state" divide in environmental policy and litigation.

President Trump's Litigation Strategy

• 💼 President Trump has a long history of extensive litigation, filing thousands of civil lawsuits both before and during his presidency against various entities, including news organizations, banks, and government agencies.
• 🎭 He claims that defending lawsuits would be a distraction from presidential duties, yet he actively initiates new lawsuits, often seen as a tactic for intimidation rather than genuine legal victory.
• 🤝 His "unified executive theory" suggests that all executive branch entities must align with his preferences, turning lawsuits against organizations seeking government approvals into a form of pressure or "legalized bribe."

Legal and Constitutional Concerns

• 🚨 Lawsuits, such as suing the IRS for $10 billion over tax return leaks, are described as absurd on their merits and raise questions about the legitimacy of litigation when the president controls the defense.
• 🌍 This pattern of using litigation to silence critics and pressure entities draws parallels to authoritarian leaders who use legal means to suppress independent media.
• 💰 Such actions potentially violate the Constitution's emoluments clause, as they could be interpreted as ways for the president to increase his personal gain beyond his official salary by leveraging his office.

Supreme Court Engagement

• 🏛️ The Solicitor General's office under the Trump administration has been proactively filing unsolicited briefs with the Supreme Court, aiming to influence the court's agenda and advance a conservative legal framework.
• ✅ This strategy has been "fairly successful," indicating the court's perceived sympathy and willingness to consider cases that align with the administration's ideological goals.
• ⏳ Delays in significant rulings, such as the tariff clash, might be strategic, allowing the administration to prolong its authority and use it as leverage in negotiations.