Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin speaks, as he tours Nucor Steel Berkeley with US Vice President JD Vance, in Huger, South Carolina, on May 1, 2025. KEVIN LAMARQUE / AFP
President Donald Trump's administration on Tuesday, July 29, moved to reverse a foundational scientific determination that underpins the US government's authority to limit greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles and, more broadly, to combat climate change.
Speaking at an auto dealership in Indianapolis, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin argued that the 2009 Endangerment Finding was based on flawed reasoning and had inflicted serious economic harm.
"If finalized, today's announcement would amount to the largest deregulatory action in the history of the United States," he said, standing alongside Energy Secretary Chris Wright, who added his department had carried out a new study about climate science.
The proposed move − first announced in March − will be subject to a 45-day public comment period and is certain to face legal challenges.
