Trump Repeals Obama-Era ‘Endangerment Finding’ In Historic Move
President Donald J. Trump has formally rescinded the Obama-era 2009 “Endangerment Finding,” the legal ruling that for more than 16 years allowed the federal government to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. The White House is calling the move the single largest deregulatory action in U.S. history, restoring what it describes as common sense and consumer freedom to energy and transportation policy.
The Environmental Protection Agency announced that the repeal eliminates both the original Endangerment Finding and all subsequent federal greenhouse gas standards for vehicles and engines from model years 2012 through 2027 and beyond.
“For sixteen years, the Endangerment Finding has been the source of consumer choice restrictions and trillions of dollars in hidden costs for Americans,” EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said. “The Trump EPA is strictly following the letter of the law, returning commonsense to policy, delivering consumer choice to Americans, and advancing the American Dream.”
Trump joined Zeldin in the Roosevelt Room to highlight the scope of the action.
“Under the process just completed by the EPA, we are officially terminating the so-called endangerment finding,” Trump said. “It was a disastrous Obama-era policy that severely damaged the American auto industry and massively drove up prices for American consumers. It had no basis in law.”
The 2009 finding, established under former EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, concluded that carbon dioxide and five other greenhouse gases posed a threat to public health and welfare. This determination became the foundation for sweeping federal regulations affecting vehicles, power plants, and major industries across the country.
Trump characterized the repeal as a necessary correction to decades of overreach.
“The Endangerment Finding was used to justify over a trillion dollars in regulations, and none of it was authorized by Congress,” he said. “We are putting an end to government overreach that hurt jobs, hurt families, and hurt our economy.”
EPA officials estimate that removing the greenhouse gas mandates will save Americans more than $1.3 trillion. The rule also eliminates unpopular vehicle features such as the “start-stop” system, which automatically shuts engines off at red lights — a measure criticized for inconveniencing drivers.
“As an added bonus, we are eliminating the universally despised start-stop feature — the Obama switch that made every car stall at red lights in the name of climate virtue-signaling,” Zeldin said.
The EPA emphasized that the repeal affects only greenhouse gas regulations and does not alter existing standards for traditional pollutants like sulfur dioxide or nitrogen oxides.
“The agency firmly believes the 2009 Endangerment Finding exceeded the EPA’s statutory authority under the Clean Air Act,” the final rule stated. “A policy decision of this magnitude, which carries sweeping economic and policy consequences, lies solely with Congress.”
Zeldin cited recent Supreme Court decisions — including West Virginia v. EPA and Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo — which restricted federal agencies from imposing broad regulatory measures without explicit congressional authorization.
The 2009 finding had been built on the Supreme Court’s 2007 decision in Massachusetts v. EPA, which allowed greenhouse gases to be regulated as air pollutants if deemed a threat to public health or welfare. The Trump administration’s action reverses this expansive regulatory approach, returning the EPA to a more narrowly defined statutory authority.
“We are following the law as Congress wrote it, not as activists wish it to be,” Zeldin said.
The decision received strong support from conservative legal advocates and energy groups. The Pacific Legal Foundation called the original finding “a trillion-dollar regulatory cascade that Congress never authorized” and praised the repeal for restoring the principle that major policy decisions require clear congressional approval.
Zeldin framed the move as part of the administration’s broader energy and economic agenda.
“The Endangerment Finding was the ‘Holy Grail’ of the climate change religion,” he said. “Today, that era is over. The Trump EPA is delivering energy independence, consumer freedom, and the rule of law back to the American people.”