EPA Chief Zeldin Revokes Obama-Era ‘Trillion-Dollar Scam’
The Trump administration has taken a sweeping step to dismantle what it calls one of the most damaging policies of the Obama years: the 2009 Endangerment Finding. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced at an Indiana car dealership that the agency will revoke the rule, which for over a decade has served as the legal foundation for far-reaching greenhouse gas restrictions on cars, trucks, and engines.
Zeldin called the regulation a “trillion-dollar scam” that crippled the U.S. auto industry, drove up costs for consumers, and forced working Americans into electric vehicles they neither wanted nor could afford. “This is about ending climate absolutism and restoring choice to American families,” Zeldin declared.
The repeal strikes directly at the heart of Obama’s climate program. It eliminates the stop-start engine rule, guts the Biden administration’s electric vehicle mandate, and signals the end of regulatory dictates that Republicans argue have hobbled U.S. manufacturing. According to EPA estimates, removing these mandates could save Americans more than $54 billion annually by lowering car prices, easing supply chain strains, and cutting back bureaucratic red tape.
Fox Business host Cheryl Casone pressed Zeldin on broader concerns about renewable energy projects greenlit under Biden, citing reports that former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg ignored safety recommendations on wind turbine placement. “At least 33 warnings were overruled in 2023 and 2024,” Casone noted, allowing turbines to be built dangerously close to infrastructure and raising alarms about interference with radio communications.
Zeldin seized on the example as evidence of a larger problem. “The left has been dishonest about safety concerns, economic costs, and environmental impacts,” he said. “President Trump has been clear from the beginning—wind energy cannot replace baseload power. What we’re reading now is proof that under Biden, rules were bent and risks ignored. That wouldn’t have happened under a Trump administration.”
He emphasized that the new approach is backed by other senior officials across the administration, including Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, who have pushed for greater transparency in evaluating environmental and economic impacts.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright praised the repeal as “a monumental step toward returning to commonsense policies that expand access to affordable, reliable energy and improve quality of life for all Americans.”
The move is part of the administration’s broader pushback against Green New Deal-style policies, a direct rejection of what Zeldin described as “climate zealotry.” For the Trump administration, the message is clear: the era of costly mandates and government-driven energy transitions is over.