The New Yorker had a full-blown meltdown this week over E.P.A. Administrator Lee Zeldin’s unapologetic effort to carry out President Trump’s environmental agenda.
In the process, the magazine unintentionally elevates Zeldin to folk hero status among the conservative faithful, making him look exactly like what many conservatives have long wanted: an E.P.A. chief who is finally willing to fight aggressive environmental leftism instead of accommodating it.
Titled “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/05/04/can-the-epa-survive-lee-zeldin">Can the E.P.A. Survive Lee Zeldin</a>?” the article begins by expressing outrage over Zeldin slapping the wrists of 144 insubordinate career E.P.A. bureaucrats who published a public letter excoriating their boss. The <a href="https://www.standupforscience.net/epa-declaration">letter</a> begins by stating, “Declaration of dissent: E.P.A. employees join in solidarity with employees across the federal government in opposing this administration&#8217;s policies,” while singling out Zeldin by name for special criticism.
The letter reads like an Ilhan Omar press release. It alleges that “black communities,” “disabled communities,” “LGBTQIA+ communities,” and the usual mix of leftist special-interest groups are disproportionately impacted by climate change and environmental harm. The letter then chastises Zeldin for cutting back funding and staff dedicated to “environmental justice.”
So much for career bureaucrats in Washington being dispassionate, politically neutral applicators of law and policy.
<div id="attachment_1087961" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/05/04/can-the-epa-survive-lee-zeldin"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1087961" class="size-large wp-image-1087961" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/TNY-LZ-1024x474.jpg" alt="Screenshot: The New Yorker" width="1024" height="474" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/TNY-LZ-1024x474.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/TNY-LZ-300x139.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/TNY-LZ-768x356.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/TNY-LZ-1536x711.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/TNY-LZ.jpg 1624w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a>Screenshot: The New Yorker</div>
For the crime of carrying out the elected president’s agenda, Zeldin is accused by career bureaucrats of “undermining public trust,” “promot[ing] misinformation,” and even backing “President Trump’s tariffs.”
The E.P.A. is part of the executive branch of the federal government, and the administrator reports directly to the president. E.P.A.’s role is to implement environmental laws and policies consistent with federal law and the president’s direction.
By definition, it is aggressively insubordinate for a federal agency’s bureaucratic employees to publicly criticize and issue a “Declaration of dissent” against the boss of their agency.
How did Zeldin respond? He placed the offending employees on temporary administrative leave, receiving full pay and benefits. In other words, Zeldin gave the insubordinate staffers free vacation time. Reading The New Yorker article, however, one would think Zeldin sentenced the staffers to hard labor in a gulag.
The New Yorker then goes on to attack Zeldin’s voting record in Congress. As an elected Republican, Zeldin voted “mostly along party lines” rather than joining Democrats in opposition to Republican-supported policies.
According to the <a href="https://heritageaction.com/scorecard/search/">Heritage Action Scorecard</a>, which tallies how often a member of Congress votes the conservative or liberal position on the most important congressional votes, Zeldin strayed from the conservative Republican position 22% of the time during his years in Congress. By comparison, so-called “conservative” Democrats Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema deviated from the liberal Democrat position just 21% and 10% of the time, respectively.
Zeldin deviated from the conservative position more frequently than so-called conservative Democrats, and yet The New Yorker still brands Zeldin a conservative extremist.
The New Yorker then complains that in the September 12, 2025, issue of the official E.P.A. newsletter, Zeldin engages in “mourning” Charlie Kirk’s assassination. To illustrate its outrage, The New Yorker points out, exasperated, that Zeldin wrote, “In Loving Memory” in the E.P.A. newsletter under a picture of Kirk.
The fact is, The New Yorker, Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and the rest of the leftist cabal are <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-epa-chief-vows-he-wont-take-morality-lessons-dem-senator-after-heated-clash">losing their minds</a> because Zeldin is the most principled and effective implementer of common-sense conservative environmental policy in the history of the E.P.A.
Under the squishy presidencies of George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush, the two Bushes searched for the most environmentally leftist “Republican” they could find. Both cases were a futile effort to win Democratic votes. George H.W. Bush chose William K. Reilly, who previously served as head of the leftist environmental activist group World Wildlife Fund, to lead his E.P.A. George W. Bush chose one of the most liberal self-identified Republican politicians in the country, former New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman, to lead his E.P.A.
Lee Zeldin is unquestionably the greatest conservative administrator the E.P.A. has ever had. The New Yorker can’t stand that, and its amateurish hit job on a very competent and effective Zeldin only makes them look more toxic.
* * *
James Taylor (<a href="mailto:JTaylor@heartland.org">JTaylor@heartland.org</a>) is President of The Heartland Institute.

Zeldin II

The Left’s Latest Hit Job On Zeldin Goes Sideways

The Left's Latest Hit Job On Zeldin Goes Sideways

DW Opinion

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

Lee Zeldin

The New Yorker

Trump Administration

On Wednesday, Lee Zeldin, the Environmental Protection Agency administrator, took a flamethrower to the sanctimony of a plethora of Democrats and their environmental absurdities.
During a hearing before the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, Rhode Island Democrat Senator Sheldon Whitehouse — a man who has spent years perfecting the art of the dramatic pause and the &#8220;dark money&#8221; conspiracy theory — launched into a vitriolic tirade. Whitehouse accused Zeldin of being a fossil fuel puppet, executing a &#8220;money pump&#8221; to enrich &#8220;Trump’s big corrupt donors&#8221; while supposedly driving up electricity bills.
Whitehouse, leaning heavily into the &#8220;climate reckoning&#8221; trope, claimed that &#8220;four-year-olds know&#8221; wind is cheaper than gas and hyperventilated, “All the climate denial fraud that you help propagate. All the corrupt, dark money your polluter bosses sluiced through this building. None of that will stand against nature&#8217;s reckoning.”
Zeldin, however, was not interested in being lectured by a man whose commitment to &#8220;diversity&#8221; apparently ends at the gates of an all-white country club.
Zeldin began by dismantling the idea that disagreement equals &#8220;villainy,&#8221; pointing out that the radical Left’s &#8220;science&#8221; is often just the most pessimistic 2009-era assumptions masquerading as fact. He then turned the tables on the &#8220;corruption&#8221; narrative, highlighting the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) — a multi-billion-dollar pot of taxpayer gold that seems to find its way into very specific pockets.
But the real knockout blow came when Zeldin addressed Whitehouse’s moral posturing directly. Noting their twenty-year acquaintance, Zeldin signaled he was done with the hypocrisy.
&#8220;I’m not going to take morality lessons from people who join all-white country clubs,&#8221; Zeldin shot back, a direct reference to Whitehouse’s long-standing membership in Newport’s exclusive Bailey’s Beach Club. Despite Whitehouse’s 2006 campaign promise to quit the club due to its lack of diversity, the Senator <a href="https://nypost.com/2021/06/21/sheldon-whitehouse-under-fire-for-membership-at-all-white-club/">remained</a> a member of the elite, non-diverse enclave for years, dismissing the exclusion as a &#8220;long tradition in Rhode Island.&#8221;
Zeldin didn&#8217;t stop at the hearing room. He took to X to dub the Senator &#8220;Sheldon WhiteClub&#8221; and went after the broader &#8220;lying cabal&#8221; of climate alarmists, writing, “I told Senator Sheldon WhiteClub today that I won’t be listening to or caring about any of his lessons on morality knowing that he joined an all-white Rhode Island Country Club. I’m also done with the likes of AOC, Al Gore, John Kerry, and the rest of the lying cabal that make stupid climate predictions, plunder tens of billions of tax dollars, enrich their well-connected allies, and are committed to strangulating out of existence entire sectors of our economy.”
Zeldin gleefully pointed out that AOC’s 2019 &#8220;12 years left&#8221; clock has less than five years remaining, and mocked Al Gore for pivoting to &#8220;global freezing&#8221; after his 2006 prediction that Mt. Kilimanjaro would be snow-free &#8220;within the decade&#8221; turned out to be a total bust. (There is, in fact, still snow on Kilimanjaro).
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
I told Senator Sheldon WhiteClub today that I won’t be listening to or caring about any of his lessons on morality knowing that he joined an all-white Rhode Island Country Club.
I’m also done with the likes of AOC, Al Gore, John Kerry, and the rest of the lying cabal that make… <a href="https://t.co/En25wkTNnV">pic.twitter.com/En25wkTNnV</a>
&mdash; Lee Zeldin (@epaleezeldin) <a href="https://twitter.com/epaleezeldin/status/2049608687413567495?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 29, 2026</a></blockquote>
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The message from the EPA was clear: The &#8220;Green New Scam&#8221; is dead, and the era of Republicans cowering before the Left&#8217;s moral &#8220;reckonings&#8221; is officially over.

Zeldin Takes Flamethrower To Democrat Environmentalist Hysterics

Al Gore

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Environmentalists

John Kerry

Sheldon Whitehouse

On Monday, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin verbally dismantled purple-haired leftist Connecticut Congresswoman Rose DeLauro during a House Appropriations hearing.
Zeldin used a trio of Supreme Court precedents to leave his opponent gasping for air.
The most telling part of the exchange was the following:
<blockquote>
DeLauro: When climate change is flooding our streets, poisoning our air, driving up health care and disaster costs, how can the EPA justify abandoning that duty to protect Americans, to appease polluters under the false flag of economic growth?
Zeldin: Following the law. Section 202 of the Clean Air Act. Where does this say anything about fighting global climate change? Loper Bright, Supreme Court case. You familiar with it?
DeLauro: No, maybe others are, but not, but let me ask.
Zeldin: But that&#8217;s really important. As a member of Congress, Loper Bright says that we, as an agency, don&#8217;t have the authority to get creative. If Section 202 of the Clean Air Act doesn&#8217;t&#8230;
DeLauro: No, but you don&#8217;t have, excuse me, you do not have the right to say climate change does not exist, that it&#8217;s a hoax, and that&#8217;s where this administration is coming from.
Zeldin: I understand you&#8217;re upset that you don&#8217;t know what Loper Bright is. Do you know what the major policies doctrine is?
DeLauro: I&#8217;m upset because —
Zeldin: Do you know what the major policies doctrine is? You&#8217;re a member of Congress. You should know.
DeLauro: You have moved from someone who defended the environment to all of a sudden&#8230;
Zeldin: You’re being very defensive about not knowing the two biggest landmark Supreme Court cases of the last year with regard to the question.
DeLauro: You are very defensive about changing your policy and your positions with regard to the environment.
Zeldin: You want me to tell you what the two biggest Supreme Court cases are of the last few years?
</blockquote>
He noted the two cases underlying his perspective: &#8220;Michigan versus EPA. West Virginia versus EPA.&#8221;
<blockquote>
DeLauro: You&#8217;re here because you need money from us, so halt for a second and wait for the questions and answer the questions.
Zeldin: Well, I answered your question.
DeLauro: No, you didn&#8217;t.
Zeldin: And you didn&#8217;t like my answer because you don&#8217;t know what Loper Bright is. Because you don&#8217;t know what the Major Policies doctrine is. Because you&#8217;re asking me about Section 202 of the Clean Air Act, and you don&#8217;t read it. You don&#8217;t know what it says.
DeLauro: Listen, and what you want to do is to deny —
Zeldin: No, I actually read the law. I do my homework.
DeLauro:  Really?
Zeldin: You&#8217;re just somebody who likes to have the microphone on. You know what I have to do? I read the law. I read the Supreme Court cases.
DeLauro: I don&#8217;t have to listen to this.
Zeldin: No, what you should do for your constituents is actually read statute.
DeLauro: The budget is at real risk.
Zeldin: Read your Supreme Court.
DeLauro: This is the Appropriations Committee.
Zeldin: You care about science, now you&#8217;re threatening to defund it?
DeLauro: Oh, my God. No, you don&#8217;t fund science.
Zeldin: Because you don&#8217;t know what Loper Bright is. Because you don&#8217;t know what the Major Policies doctrine is. Your message to our folks at the EPA is that you wanted to defund us.
DeLauro: I don&#8217;t have to listen to this BS.
Zeldin: BS? You think I made up these cases?
DeLauro: Yeah, I think you have made up a whole lot of pieces.
Zeldin: I made up Loper Bright? I made up West Virginia versus EPA? I made up Michigan versus EPA?
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Nothing infuriates an uninformed Congressional Dem more than when they realize they voluntarily triggered a debate with someone who actually knows what they are talking about, reads federal statute and adheres to Supreme Court precedent. Today’s self-implosion by <a href="https://twitter.com/rosadelauro?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@rosadelauro</a> was… <a href="https://t.co/6HTgVjQCiE">pic.twitter.com/6HTgVjQCiE</a>
&mdash; Lee Zeldin (@epaleezeldin) <a href="https://twitter.com/epaleezeldin/status/2048895480151593427?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 27, 2026</a></blockquote>
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&nbsp;
Michigan v. EPA (2015) ruled that the EPA acted &#8220;unreasonably&#8221; by failing to consider costs before regulating power plant emissions. It established that &#8220;appropriate and necessary&#8221; regulations must account for the financial burden on the private sector.
West Virginia v. EPA (2022) stripped the EPA of the power to mandate industry-wide shifts between fuel types (like coal to solar). It created a &#8220;speed bump&#8221; requiring Congress to provide specific, clear authorization for any rule with massive economic or political impact.
Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo (2024) overruled the &#8220;Chevron deference&#8221; doctrine. It shifted power from the Executive to the Judiciary, stating that judges must use their own &#8220;independent judgment&#8221; to determine the meaning of laws rather than deferring to an agency&#8217;s interpretation.
At one point, Zeldin told DeLauro that people should not drink or inject glyphosate, the active ingredient in pesticides such as Roundup. She <a href="https://news.bloomberglaw.com/environment-and-energy/epas-zeldin-tangles-with-democrats-over-trumps-budget-request">responded</a> nastily, “Maybe you should try doing that.”

US-POLITICS-CONGRESS-HEARING-ENVIRONMENT-ZELDIN

WATCH: Zeldin Turns Purple-Haired Dem White With Rage As He Demolishes Her

Congress

Politics

U.S. House of Representatives

In a move described by the White House as the &#8220;single largest deregulatory action in U.S. history,&#8221; EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin and President Trump have <a href="https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/president-trump-and-administrator-zeldin-deliver-single-largest-deregulatory-action-us">finalized a rule</a> to rescind the 2009 Endangerment Finding. The decision effectively eliminates all federal greenhouse gas (GHG) emission standards for motor vehicles and engines.
The Trump administration projects that this reversal will <a href="https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/what-they-are-saying-leaders-and-americans-across-country-applaud-single-largest-act?utm_source=chatgpt.com">save Americans</a> more than $1.3 trillion in regulatory costs. According to the EPA, the action will:
<ul data-path-to-node="5">
<li>
Eliminate future obligations for manufacturers to measure, control, or report GHG emissions for highway vehicles.
</li>
<li>
Apply retroactively, covering model years manufactured prior to the final rule.
</li>
<li>
Lower vehicle prices by an estimated average of $2,400 per vehicle.
</li>
<li>
Restore consumer choice by removing &#8220;de facto&#8221; electric vehicle mandates.
</li>
</ul>
Officials clarified that this action applies strictly to greenhouse gases and does not impact existing regulations on traditional air pollutants like smog or soot.
The EPA’s new determination rests on a reevaluation of<a href="https://cdxapps.epa.gov/oms-substance-registry-services/substance-list-details/144"> Section 202(a) of the Clean Air Act</a>. Administrator Zeldin concluded that Congress never intended for the Act to grant the EPA authority to manage global climate change. The agency further argued that its previous regulations were &#8220;futile,&#8221; asserting they had no material impact on global temperature trends.
The <a href="https://www.epa.gov/climate-change/endangerment-and-cause-or-contribute-findings-greenhouse-gases-under-section-202a">2009 finding</a>, established during the Obama administration, served as the legal bedrock for the EPA’s authority to regulate GHGs under the Clean Air Act. By determining that carbon dioxide and other GHGs endangered public health, the agency previously mandated strict emission limits that pushed the auto industry toward electrification.
&#8220;The Endangerment Finding was a disastrous policy that damaged the American auto industry,&#8221; President Trump stated during the announcement in the Roosevelt Room. &#8220;We are bringing car prices tumbling down by eliminating this red tape.&#8221;
The move drew immediate praise from Republican lawmakers and industry groups. Senate Environment and Public Works Chairman Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) called it a &#8220;transformational impact&#8221; for energy-producing states. &#8220;By ending the so-called Endangerment Finding, President Trump is delivering the largest cutting of red tape in history — unleashing American energy and making everything more affordable,&#8221; U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Doug Burgum echoed.
Industry leaders, including the American Trucking Associations and the American Petroleum Institute, supported the shift, citing the need for &#8220;achievable&#8221; standards and the preservation of gas-powered vehicle options.
While environmental advocates are expected to challenge the ruling in court, the administration remains firm that major climate policy must be decided by Congress rather than executive agencies.

TOPSHOT-US-VOTE-REPUBLICANS-TRUMP

Trump Ends Federal Emission Standards For Vehicles In Historic Deregulatory Move

Trump Administration Rescinds EPA Endangerment Finding In Historic Deregulatory Move

Cars

The Trump administration is set this week to repeal the Obama-era “endangerment finding” on which federal regulations on greenhouse gas emissions rest.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Tuesday that President Donald Trump and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin are set to formalize a new rule rescinding the emissions ruling in an event scheduled for Thursday.
“This will be the largest deregulatory action in American history, and it will save the American people $1.3 trillion in crushing regulations. The bulk of the savings will stem from reduced costs for new vehicles, with the EPA projecting average per vehicle savings of more than $2,400 for popular light-duty cars, SUVs, and trucks,” <a href="https://x.com/WarMachineRR/status/2021296500928655493">said</a> Leavitt.
Environmental groups have already promised to explore lawsuits as soon as the final rule is signed.
“Lee Zeldin and Donald Trump plan to toss out the endangerment finding on blatantly specious legal grounds, attempting to wish away the Supreme Court’s landmark 2007 holding in Massachusetts v. EPA that the Clean Air Act does cover greenhouse gas pollution,” the Sierra Club said in a press release. “While this rule specifically concerns greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles, EPA has made clear that it will do the same for other major sources of climate pollution like power plants.”
EPA Administrator Zeldin <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/epa-announces-plan-to-throw-out-obama-era-climate-restrictions">began</a> the move to roll back the finding in July, saying that the deregulatory effort was “driving a dagger into the heart of the climate change religion.”
The new rule will “repeal all resulting greenhouse gas emissions regulations for motor vehicles and engines, thereby reinstating consumer choice and giving Americans the ability to purchase a safe and affordable car for their family while decreasing the cost of living on all products that trucks deliver,” the agency said at the time.
The “endangerment finding” was drawn up in 2009 by the EPA under former President Barack Obama. The finding is not a regulation, but a legal determination that greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide and methane, are a threat to public health and should be regulated. The finding became the basis for a wave of regulations on greenhouse gas emissions that covered power plants, engines, and other common greenhouse gas emitters.
The final rule would rescind emissions standards on motor vehicles and associated compliance programs. It would also remove some mandatory reporting requirements for industries, according to <a href="https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/trump-to-repeal-landmark-climate-finding-in-huge-regulatory-rollback-ff7d58db?gaa_at=eafs&amp;gaa_n=AWEtsqc-iEqI12SYGzN5JMUaWEzF78Y8dnfwJ-FEqju50asm9b4hJlghXz5X3WcVecc%3D&amp;gaa_ts=698b9b82&amp;gaa_sig=pc2gkz7zAniJG3EDoD_PYRiGsQG3TMUz6k3l79yRrTmMy0YBj9Rh-mGWVgarxPaMEU9GGe6Rj6wrvwYIyX9Dhg%3D%3D">The Wall Street Journal</a>.
The rule would not impact regulations on emissions from power plants, but it would lay the groundwork for future rollbacks of those regulations, officials told WSJ.
This move is just one in an ongoing <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2025/07/10/trump-big-beautiful-bill-ends-7500-ev-tax-credit-time-to-buy-vehicle.html">deregulatory</a> effort by the Trump administration as it relates to alleged climate change. In 2025, President Trump and Congress ended the federal electric vehicle tax credit with the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” repealing provisions that had been expanded under former President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act.
Additionally, EPA head Zeldin <a href="https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-launches-biggest-deregulatory-action-us-history">announced</a> in early 2025 that his agency was poised to take dozens of deregulatory actions that would &#8220;roll back trillions in regulatory costs and hidden &#8216;taxes&#8217; on U.S. families,&#8221; according to an EPA press release.

Trump EPA To Repeal Bedrock Climate Finding In ‘Largest Deregulatory Action’ In U.S. History

Environmentalism

Social Issues

The U.S. economy grew by an unexpected 3% last quarter, but the Federal Reserve is holding interest rates steady, drawing criticism from President Trump. The Trump administration moves to repeal a key Obama-era EPA finding, a move that would end the regulation of greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act. Flush with new funding, ICE launches a major recruitment campaign to hire thousands of new agents to secure the border.
It’s Thursday, July 31, 2025, and this is the news you need to know to start your day.
Morning Wire is available on video! You can watch today’s episode here:
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If you’d rather listen to your news, today’s edition of the Morning Wire podcast can be heard below:
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<h2>GDP Soars, But Fed Holds Rates Steady</h2>
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Topline: The U.S. economy grew at a much faster-than-expected 3% pace last quarter, but the Federal Reserve on Wednesday opted to hold interest rates steady for the fifth consecutive meeting, defying pressure from President Trump.
On Wednesday, the Commerce Department announced that the U.S. GDP grew by 3% in the second quarter, significantly beating economists&#8217; predictions of 2.3% and marking a major turnaround from the first quarter’s contraction. The strong report, which also showed a nearly 1.5% rise in consumer spending and an increase in consumer confidence, indicates that American businesses and consumers have weathered fears over Trump’s trade reset. National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett called it &#8220;one of the best GDP announcements &#8230; you could imagine because there&#8217;s blockbuster growth &#8230; and there&#8217;s also a real, real almost collapse in inflation.&#8221; 
Despite the positive economic data and low inflation, the Federal Reserve chose to hold its benchmark interest rate in the 4.25% to 4.5% range. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said that while the economy is in a &#8220;solid position,&#8221; inflation is still &#8220;running somewhat above our 2 percent long run objective.&#8221; In a rare public dissent, two Fed Governors, Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman, voted in favor of rate cuts.
President Trump, who has been publicly pleading for a rate cut, blasted Powell’s decision. &#8220;2Q GDP JUST OUT: 3%, WAY BETTER THAN EXPECTED! &#8216;Too Late&#8217;… MUST NOW LOWER THE RATE,&#8221; Trump wrote on Truth Social, adding that high rates are &#8220;hurting people from buying houses.&#8221; That claim was supported by new data showing that pending home sales fell by nearly 1% in June, hitting their lowest pace in nine months.
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<h2>Trump EPA Moves to End Climate Regulations</h2>
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-954665" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/MRN-7.31.25-SH2-1024x576.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/MRN-7.31.25-SH2-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/MRN-7.31.25-SH2-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/MRN-7.31.25-SH2-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/MRN-7.31.25-SH2-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/MRN-7.31.25-SH2.jpg 1920w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></div>
Topline: The Trump administration’s Environmental Protection Agency has proposed repealing the 2009 “endangerment finding,” a move that would dismantle the legal basis for regulating greenhouse gases and effectively end federal climate change policy.
The endangerment finding, established by the Obama administration, determined that greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide endanger human health by contributing to climate change, which allowed them to be regulated under the Clean Air Act. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said that repealing the finding &#8220;will be the largest deregulatory action in the history of America.&#8221; The administration argues that CO2 is a naturally occurring gas with no direct toxicological effects at ambient levels, unlike the pollutants the Clean Air Act was designed to address.
According to Zeldin, recent Supreme Court decisions that overturned the Chevron doctrine and limited the EPA’s authority would likely prevent a future administration from unilaterally reinstating the finding without a new act of Congress.
The move aligns with President Trump’s broader energy agenda. While in Scotland earlier this week, the president outlined a new test for energy sources: &#8220;energy should not need subsidy.&#8221; He used this to dismiss wind power, stating, &#8220;wind doesn’t work,&#8221; and vowed that the United States would not build a single additional wind turbine under his administration.
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<h2>ICE Launches Massive Recruitment Campaign</h2>
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-954669" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/MRN-7.31.25-SH3-1024x576.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/MRN-7.31.25-SH3-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/MRN-7.31.25-SH3-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/MRN-7.31.25-SH3-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/MRN-7.31.25-SH3-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/MRN-7.31.25-SH3.jpg 1920w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></div>
Topline: Flush with billions in new funding from the &#8220;Big Beautiful Bill,&#8221; the Department of Homeland Security has launched a major recruitment campaign to hire new ICE agents and attorneys to bolster border enforcement.
This week, DHS unveiled a new website encouraging Americans to &#8220;choose your mission&#8221; and apply for roles as a deportation officer, criminal investigator, or general attorney. The campaign slams the prior administration’s &#8220;disastrous immigration policies&#8221; and reaffirms President Trump’s commitment to law enforcement professionals. In a post on X, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin called on Americans to join ICE to remove terrorists, pedophiles, and gang members from the country.
The recruitment push is funded by the &#8220;Big Beautiful Bill,&#8221; which allocated over $165 billion to DHS, with $75 billion specifically earmarked for ICE on top of its existing budget. Of that sum, $30 billion will go toward hiring, training, and retaining new agents. The new funding allows ICE to offer lucrative sign-on bonuses of up to $50,000 for certain agents.
The campaign appears to be paying off. Border Czar Tom Homan said on Newsmax that recruiting offices are &#8220;swamped&#8221; and have &#8220;more people than they can handle.&#8221; The hiring push comes as DHS Secretary Kristi Noem praised the &#8220;brave men and women of DHS&#8221; for their successful operations countering human trafficking and smuggling rings.

MRN 7.31.25 Thumbnail V1

Morning Brief: GDP Up, Interest Rates Steady, EPA Rolls Back Regulations & ICE Is Recruiting

Economics

Immigration

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

Media

Morning Wire

One of the biggest moves made in modern history in the regulatory state occurred this week. On Tuesday, the Environmental Protection Agency <a href="https://www.wsj.com/opinion/epa-endangerment-finding-repeal-greenhouse-gases-obama-trump-steve-koonin-67fcb2ce?mod=hp_opin_pos_1">moved to repeal</a> the 2009 so-called endangerment finding for greenhouse gas emissions.
The Clean Air Act, which was put into place in the 1970s, authorized the EPA to regulate pollutants like ozone, particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, and others that might endanger public health or welfare. 
But the EPA suggested, under Barack Obama, that the Clean Air Act could be used to regulate carbon emissions, which is insane. 
The Clean Air Act was meant to stop particulate matter. It was meant to stop the breaking down of the ozone layer. It was not meant to deal with carbon, and particularly carbon dioxide, which is a natural byproduct of breathing. 
Carbon dioxide is not a danger to human beings in the environment. You may not like what it does in terms of global climate change. But the idea that the EPA has authority under the Clean Air Act is wrong. If Congress wants to give the EPA that authority, then it certainly could. But it never did. 
The Supreme Court found in 2007 that greenhouse gases could qualify as pollutants under an extraordinarily broad misreading of the law. “There is some evidence that elevated carbon dioxide concentrations and climate changes can lead to changes in aeroallergens that could increase the potential for allergenic illnesses,” the Obama 2009 endangerment finding stated. 
Now the EPA is revoking the previous policy. The Wall Street Journal <a href="https://www.wsj.com/opinion/epa-endangerment-finding-repeal-greenhouse-gases-obama-trump-steve-koonin-67fcb2ce?gaa_at=eafs&amp;gaa_n=ASWzDAjNDB5-v2W5AWInkM3wgvwDH7QHcGNmdXIjN6_-Uu1CHb-Ilh_p391soX3w2uE%3D&amp;gaa_ts=688a5b6a&amp;gaa_sig=qeRIhaSN78lB5BrQ0s6rFUZyXLR8Enkln4V2Bv7sQbiCNXOc57C5dRowpTEBDBXQLeD75GPTigdc2QTCjcjnJA%3D%3D">wrote</a>: 
<blockquote>The Energy Department on Tuesday published a comprehensive analysis of climate science and its uncertainties by five outside scientists. One is Steven Koonin who served in the Obama Administration and is a contributor to these pages. The crucial point is that CO2 is different from the pollutants that Congress expressly authorized EPA to regulate.
Those pollutants “are subject to regulatory control because they cause local problems depending on concentrations that include nuisances (odor, visibility), damage to plants, and, at high enough exposure levels, toxicological effects in humans,&#8221; the report notes. “In contrast, CO2 is odorless, does not affect visibility and has no toxicological effects at ambient levels.”</blockquote>
In other words, higher levels of CO2 in the air from fossil fuels won’t make you sick.
You&#8217;re not going to get sick from CO2 in the air. Thus, the EPA administrator, Lee Zeldin, and Energy Secretary Chris Wright are taking this on. The Clean Air Act no longer applies in our interpretation to greenhouse gases. 
What does that mean? It means something extraordinary for the American economy. Among other things, such as a massive deregulatory environment, the alleged cost of regulating greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act amounts to roughly $54 billion per year. If you multiply that out over the course of the last decade and a half, you&#8217;re talking about a cost in excess of $800 billion, all based on a regulatory agency radically exceeding its boundaries.
<h3><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-2249-winning-trump-s-epa-wrecks-the-radical-green-agenda?elementPosition=2&amp;row=2&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+Episodes&amp;rowType=Horizontal+Show+Episodes+Carousel">WATCH: The Ben Shapiro Show</a></h3>
Energy Secretary Chris Wright told me:
<blockquote>It&#8217;s just been a huge entanglement into American life. Big brother climate regulations from the government that don’t do anything meaningful for global greenhouse gas emissions. They don&#8217;t change any health outcomes for Americans, but they massively grow the government. &#8230; So administrator Lee Zeldin, is reviewing that and saying, “Hey, we don&#8217;t believe that greenhouse gases are a significant endangerment to the American public, and they shouldn&#8217;t be regulated by the EPA.”
The EPA does not have authority to regulate them because Congress never passed such a law. &#8230; I reached out to five, prestigious climate scientists that are real scientists in my mind … and we published a long critical overview of climate science and its impact on Americans. And that was released yesterday on the DOE Website, and I highly recommend everyone to give it a read. </blockquote>
I asked him what were the biggest findings from that report that he commissioned at the Department of Energy.
“Maybe the single biggest one that everyone should be aware of is the ceaseless repeating that climate change is making storms more frequent and more severe and more dangerous. It&#8217;s just nonsense. That&#8217;s never been in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports. It&#8217;s just not true. But the media and politicians and activists just repeatedly repeat it,” he replied.
“We&#8217;ve just driven up the price of energy and reduced choice to American consumers without meaningfully moving global greenhouse gas emissions at all,” he said. “And when I talk to activists or politicians about it, they&#8217;re not even that concerned about it and say it. They don&#8217;t act as if their real goal is to incrementally reduce greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Their real goal is for the government and for them — a small number of people — to decide what&#8217;s appropriate behavior for all Americans.”
“We just need some common sense back around energy and climate change. That&#8217;s where the Trump administration is headed across the administration, not just in Zeldin and myself, but everyone in the administration. We just want Americans to have a government that follows basic common sense,” he concluded.
Exactly.

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin Testifies On Capitol Hill

WINNING: Trump’s EPA Wrecks The Radical Green Agenda

WINNING: Trump's EPA Wrecks The Radical Green Agenda

Ben Shapiro

Chris Wright

Climate Change

Economy

Energy

federal regulation

Opinion

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin announced at a press conference Tuesday that the agency would begin rolling back Obama-era policies that have allowed the federal government to heavily regulate vehicle emissions and more.
The new rule reverses the &#8220;Endangerment Finding,&#8221; a 2009 decision that classified gases like methane and carbon dioxide as detrimental to the environment and people&#8217;s health. Based on that rule, the EPA was able to justify regulating emissions standards across all industries under the Clean Air Act.
&#8220;This has been referred to as basically driving a dagger into the heart of the climate change religion,&#8221; Zeldin <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/epa-chief-zeldin-delivers-dagger-to-the-heart-of-obamas-climate-change-agenda-on-ruthless-podcast" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a podcast appearance Monday.
The rule &#8220;Would repeal all resulting greenhouse gas emissions regulations for motor vehicles and engines, thereby reinstating consumer choice and giving Americans the ability to purchase a safe and affordable car for their family while decreasing the cost of living on all products that trucks deliver,&#8221; the EPA said in a <a href="https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-releases-proposal-rescind-obama-era-endangerment-finding-regulations-paved-way" target="_blank" rel="noopener">press release</a>.
Zeldin says the move will slash unnecessary spending for individual businesses and eliminate the contentious <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-admin-is-slashing-fuel-efficiency-standards-claims-it-will-make-cars-affordable-again?author=Hank+Berrien&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Trump+Admin+Is+Slashing+Fuel+Efficiency+Standards%2C+Claims+It+Will+%E2%80%98Make+Cars+Affordable+Again%E2%80%99" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Electric Vehicle mandates</a>. He also plans on opening a line of communication for public comment on the effects of emission regulations.
&#8220;If finalized, rescinding the Endangerment Finding and resulting regulations would end $1 trillion or more in hidden taxes on American businesses and families,&#8221; Zeldin said.
Jeff Clark, the acting administrator of the Office of Management and Budget, similarly touted the economic benefits of this proposed rule in a Tuesday morning <a href="https://x.com/JeffClarkUS/status/1950161513949302990" target="_blank" rel="noopener">post</a>. Clark said that an estimated national savings from this decreased regulation ranges from $1.7 to $8.2 trillion from 2027 to 2055.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright, who appeared with Zeldin to make the announcement, praised President Trump for &#8220;returning to free and open dialogue around climate and energy policy, driving the focus back to following the data.&#8221;
&#8220;Today&#8217;s announcement is a monumental step toward returning to commonsense policies that expand access to affordable, reliable, secure energy and improve quality of life for all Americans,&#8221; Wright added.
This regulatory change will not be without legal challenge. The <a href="https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/549/497/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">landmark</a> 2007 Supreme Court case, Massachusetts v. EPA, determined that the Clean Air Act sufficiently allowed for the federal government to regulate emissions if it determined that climate change or pollutants pose a harm to the American public.
Other similar <a href="https://supreme.justia.com/cases-by-topic/climate-change-environment/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rulings</a> have strengthened the EPA&#8217;s hold on emission standards for vehicles and businesses. The proposal will face a lengthy review process, including public comment, before it is finalized.
Zeldin hopes to slash red tape holding back businesses by redefining what the EPA can regulate.
&#8220;With regard to the endangerment finding, they&#8217;ll say carbon dioxide is a pollutant and that&#8217;s the end of it. They&#8217;ll never acknowledge any type of benefit or need for carbon dioxide,&#8221; he said. &#8220;It&#8217;s important to note, and they don&#8217;t, how important it is for the planet.&#8221;
Zeldin continued, saying that &#8220;We shouldn&#8217;t shy away from all of the innovation in the way that we tap into an energy supply here in the United States.&#8221;
He praised the EPA&#8217;s quick and decisive action in this move to commit to the massive deregulation.
&#8220;It&#8217;s one agency, in one year, doing more deregulation than the entire federal government across all agencies across entire presidencies when you look back in history. That&#8217;s how much of a mess it is that we inherited,&#8221; Zeldin said.

Vice President JD Vance

EPA Announces Plan To Throw Out Obama-Era Climate Restrictions

Barack Obama

Carbon Emissions

A group of Republican lawmakers asked EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin on Wednesday to look at the dangers of flushing the abortion pill into America’s drinking water, according to a letter first shared with The Daily Wire. 
Led by Rep. Josh Brecheen and Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma, the lawmakers urged Zeldin to take steps to probe whether the byproducts of mifepristone were ending up in drinking water and negatively impacting fertility. They argued that the deadly pills were not only ending the lives of unborn children, but also contaminating drinking water, making it unsafe for all Americans. 
“We recognize that the greatest tragedy of every abortion is the murder of the innocent. But we are also concerned that activist bureaucrats overlooked real public health risks posed by mifepristone in their crusade to expand abortion access,” Brecheen told The Daily Wire. “With chemical abortion now the most common abortion method in America, the public deserves answers about how these potent hormone disruptors affect our water supply and contribute to our nation’s rising infertility rates.”
The <a href="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/Congressional-Letter-to-EPA-re-Mifepristone.pdf">letter</a> notes that there were at least 648,500 medication abortions in 2023, and that many chemicals from the pills, meant to kill an unborn child, were ending up in the water system. The lawmakers said that since mifepristone is meant to disrupt the hormones of a pregnant woman that it could have endocrine-disrupting effects for the general public when introduced into the water system. 
“If residual amounts of the drug and its metabolites persist in wastewater, prolonged exposure could potentially interfere with a person’s fertility, regardless of sex. We believe it is reckless to allow a known progesterone blocker to be flushed into America’s drinking water without knowing definitively if it impacts fertility rates,” the letter says. 
Senators Cynthia Lummis (WY), Bernie Moreno (OH), and Jim Banks (IN) also signed on to the letter, as did 20 other House Republicans. 
They asked Zeldin if the EPA believed mifepristone should be regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act, if the EPA had considered monitoring or regulating mifepristone, and if the agency had conducted any reviews of the abortion pill&#8217;s impact on drinking water.
“Federal regulators are rightfully eager to study the health effects of many chemicals in our water and septic systems, but they haven’t examined the environmental and public health risks of chemical abortion drugs like mifepristone in those same systems,” Lankford said. “Scientific research on the health effects of water sources where there are trace amounts of a chemical that is designed to end the life of a child in the womb should not be controversial.”
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/how-a-leftist-network-of-websites-floods-red-states-with-abortion-pills-with-no-consequences-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">READ MORE: How A Leftist Network Of Websites Floods Red States With Abortion Pills With No Consequences</a>
The action was also supported by Students for Life Action President Kristan Hawkins, who said that the Biden administration recklessly expanded the distribution of the abortion pill. 
“You don’t have to be pro-life to be concerned about endocrine disrupters in our waterways, potentially impacting our water safety, harming endangered species and our food supply, and perhaps even multiplying the rate of infertility,” she said. 
Medication abortion has quickly become the most common form of abortion, making up over 60% of all abortions, according to some estimates. The real percentage may be even higher because of the amount of illegal pills that are shipped into red states that have technically prohibited all abortions.
The Trump administration, which has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/serious-mistake-trump-admin-moves-to-dismiss-challenge-to-mail-order-abortion-pills" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pulled some punches</a> against the abortion pill, took steps earlier this month to reevaluate the pill. FDA Commissioner Marty Makary told Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) that he would conduct a review of mifepristone and its widespread use.

Vice President JD Vance Tours Nucor Steel Berkeley In South Carolina

EXCLUSIVE: Abortion Pills Could Be Polluting Drinking Water. Lawmakers Want Answers.

Abortion Drug

Pro-Life Movement

President Donald Trump revoked California&#8217;s electric vehicle mandates, which have been adopted by nearly a dozen other states nationwide.
The president signed three congressional resolutions on Thursday, putting an end to California&#8217;s ban on the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035. The California mandate was adopted by 11 other states, representing one-third of the auto market in the United States.
&#8220;We officially rescue the U.S. auto industry from destruction by terminating the California electric vehicle mandate once and for all,&#8221; Trump said at the White House. &#8220;They said it couldn&#8217;t be done, but boy, it had us tied up in knots for years. And they passed these crazy rules in California &#8230; the automakers didn&#8217;t know what to do.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a>: &quot;We officially rescue the U.S. auto industry from destruction by terminating the California electric vehicle mandate ONCE AND FOR ALL.&quot; 🔥 <a href="https://t.co/zOVvF5DKyF">pic.twitter.com/zOVvF5DKyF</a>
&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1933185013962404156?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 12, 2025</a></blockquote>
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The move, made possible by Trump signing resolutions of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act, was celebrated by a group representing major automakers, including GM, Stellantis, Toyota, Hyundai, and Volkswagen, Reuters <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-sign-resolutions-nixing-californias-ev-rules-sources-2025-06-10/">reported</a>.
&#8220;The fact is these EV sales mandates were never achievable,&#8221; said Alliance for Automotive Innovation CEO John Bozzella. &#8220;In reality, meeting the mandates would require diverting finite capital from the EV transition to purchase compliance credits from Tesla.&#8221;
U.S. automaker GM added in a statement, “We appreciate the actions taken by President Trump to sign H.J. Res. 88 into law and help align emissions standards with today’s market realities. We have long advocated for one national standard that will allow us to stay competitive, continue to invest in U.S. innovation, and offer customer choice across the broadest lineup of gas-powered and electric vehicles.”
One of the resolutions signed by Trump repeals a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency waiver that was granted under the Biden administration and greenlit California&#8217;s mandate for at least 80% of new vehicles to be electric by 2035, according to Reuters. Trump will sign another resolution approved by the Republican-controlled Congress to rescind a 2023 EPA approval for California to require automakers to produce more zero-emission heavy-duty trucks. The third resolution eliminates the state&#8217;s low-nitrogen oxide regulation targeting heavy-duty trucks and off-road vehicles.
Republicans and auto companies have pushed for the EV regulations to be addressed. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/senate-gears-up-stop-california-2035-gas-vehicle-sales-ban">said</a> last month that the EPA&#8217;s waivers allowed California “to dictate emissions standards for the whole country – effectively imposing a nationwide electric vehicle mandate.” In May, the GOP-led House voted to pass a Congressional Review Act resolution of disapproval for the EV mandate with the support of 35 Democrats. The Congressional Review Act allowed the Senate to bypass a filibuster to undo the EV regulations, as The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/senate-votes-undo-biden-era-waiver-california-enabling-gas-car-ban">reported</a>.
In their vote, Senate Republicans were <a href="https://x.com/SenatorSlotkin/status/1925590423944257939">joined</a> by Michigan Democrat Sen. Elissa Slotkin, who said she has &#8220;a special responsibility to stand up for the more than one million Michiganders whose livelihoods depend on the U.S. auto industry.”
Trump signaled his support for ending California&#8217;s EV mandate while on the 2024 campaign trail.
“When I’m president, no state in America will be permitted to ban gas-powered cars or trucks, and I guarantee it,” Trump told his supporters at a rally in Saginaw, Michigan.
California Democratic Attorney General Rob Bonta <a href="https://x.com/AGRobBonta/status/1925624592481026347">said</a> his state would sue over Trump&#8217;s move &#8220;to protect California’s longstanding authority to maintain clean vehicle standards.&#8221;
&#8220;President Trump may be playing partisan games with lives and good-paying jobs on the line—but California won’t back down,&#8221; Bonta added.

Donald Trump

Trump Slashes California’s ‘Crazy’ Far-Reaching EV Mandates

California

electric vehicles

Republicans

Lee Zeldin, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), got into heated exchanges with Senate Democrats on Wednesday over his efforts to save taxpayer dollars at the agency.
Zeldin testified in front of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on Wednesday and clashed with Democrats on the committee over his efforts to cut waste, fraud, and abuse.
Rhode Island Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse argued with Zeldin about cuts to the agency. Whitehouse along with other Democratic senators accused the administrator of lying about cuts constituting waste, fraud, or abuse.
A frustrated Zeldin eventually told the senator that the Trump administration is “not going to waste dollars just because you insist on EPA lighting taxpayer dollars on fire.”
“The American taxpayers, they put President Trump in office because of people like you. They have Republicans in charge of the House and Senate because of people like you, because you don&#8217;t care about 99% of this story,” Zeldin said. “You don&#8217;t want me to go through the list of all the evidence of waste and abuse. You don’t care about conflicts of interest. You don’t care about unqualified recipients.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Nothing exposes the hypocrisy of Congressional Dems like <a href="https://twitter.com/SenWhitehouse?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SenWhitehouse</a> more than the cold hard truth about why I terminated their Green Slush Fund Scam and how I have unapologetically implemented a ZERO tolerance policy for ANY waste and abuse. <a href="https://t.co/1yQNlWLU7m">pic.twitter.com/1yQNlWLU7m</a>
&mdash; Lee Zeldin (@epaleezeldin) <a href="https://twitter.com/epaleezeldin/status/1925234661409628461?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 21, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts repeatedly asked Zeldin to provide a list of “waste, fraud, and abuse,” but interrupted the administrator before he could run through a list of what his staff had found.
“Are you willing to admit here today, Mr. Administrator, that you don&#8217;t have any evidence of waste, fraud, and abuse?” Markey asked.
Zeldin repeatedly said he would be “happy to go through the list.” But Zeldin failed to get more than a few words into his list of waste, fraud, and abuse before the Massachusetts Democrat was “reclaiming” time and talking over the administrator.
“You want to declare there&#8217;s no evidence, but you don&#8217;t want me to go through the list,” Zeldin said.
Markey’s time expired before Zeldin could meaningfully discuss the cuts he has made to the Environmental Protection Agency.
“Never anything but malarkey from the mouth of Ed Markey. The American public is DONE with this double talk, dishonest hackery from these Congressional Democrats,” Zeldin posted on X.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Never anything but malarkey from the mouth of Ed Markey.
The American public is DONE with this double talk, dishonest hackery from these Congressional Democrats. <a href="https://t.co/sdo0gh8c4K">pic.twitter.com/sdo0gh8c4K</a>
&mdash; Lee Zeldin (@epaleezeldin) <a href="https://twitter.com/epaleezeldin/status/1925264793654505800?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 21, 2025</a></blockquote>
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In a back-and-forth with California Sen. Adam Schiff, Zeldin took issue with the senator’s characterization of his leadership at the EPA and called Schiff “an aspiring fiction writer.”
“With that wind-up, by the way, I understand you&#8217;re an aspiring fiction writer. I see why,” said Zeldin.
Schiff responded: “Well, I understand your view that you can cut half of the agency and it won&#8217;t affect people&#8217;s health or their water or their air. That, to me, is a big fiction, Mr. Zeldin.”
Schiff’s time expired as he continued to lecture Zeldin. The agency administrator shot back at Schiff later on X: “Aspiring fiction writer @SenAdamSchiff got sad today that I called out a bunch more of his lies. The next time he says something truthful will be the first.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Aspiring fiction writer <a href="https://twitter.com/SenAdamSchiff?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SenAdamSchiff</a> got sad today that I called out a bunch more of his lies. The next time he says something truthful will be the first. 
Regardless, the Trump EPA will tirelessly work on issues affecting his constituents like hazardous waste removal in LA… <a href="https://t.co/WKRaWOnPuC">pic.twitter.com/WKRaWOnPuC</a>
&mdash; Lee Zeldin (@epaleezeldin) <a href="https://twitter.com/epaleezeldin/status/1925247823475363893?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 21, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Zeldin Torches Democrats Over EPA Reforms: ‘You Don’t Care About 99% Of This Story’

Adam Schiff

Ed Markey

The Trump administration is cracking down on blue state abuses of federal environmental legislation that impedes the White House&#8217;s push for American energy dominance.
The Environmental Protection Agency plans to issue a memo on Thursday clarifying the authority of state and tribal governments under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act. In recent years, states like New York and Washington have invoked that section to kill major fossil fuel projects, despite those states’ high energy prices.
“Under the last Administration, certain states attempted to leverage the Clean Water Act to undercut projects that would boost national and regional development and unleash American energy resources,” EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said in a statement. “With this memorandum, EPA is reinforcing the limits on Clean Water Act section 401 certification to support energy, critical mineral, and infrastructure projects that are key to economic growth and Power the Great American Comeback.”
Under Section 401, state and tribal governments may <a href="https://www.epa.gov/cwa-401/overview-cwa-section-401-certification" target="_blank" rel="noopener">block</a> “any activity that may result in any discharge into waters of the United States,” according to the EPA’s website. The law was designed to give local officials authority to step in if federally-permitted activities threatened water quality.
In 2020, the Trump EPA restricted the use of Section 401 authority. The move roiled blue states, and a coalition of 19 attorneys general joined together to <a href="https://www.mass.gov/news/ag-healey-sues-trump-administration-over-illegal-attack-on-clean-water-act" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sue</a> the administration over the rule change. The Biden administration <a href="https://www.instituteforenergyresearch.org/regulation/epa-reverses-another-trump-administration-rule/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reversed</a> the Trump rules in 2022.
Now, the Trump administration is reinstating its 2020 guidance in an effort to stop state-level Democrats from using the law to block key fossil fuel projects, such as pipelines and coal shipping terminals.
According to the Trump administration, Democrats have expanded use of the rule beyond its statutory role. In 2017, several states <a href="https://dailycaller.com/2018/08/16/coal-crow-tribe-washington-regulations/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">blocked</a> construction of a series of massive coal export terminals, the Millennium Bulk Terminals, in southwestern Washington.
In a <a href="https://ecology.wa.gov/getattachment/8349469b-a94f-492b-acca-d8277e1ad237/MBTL-Denial.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">letter</a> denying the project approval, Washington State officials said they lacked “reasonable assurance” under Section 401 that mitigation efforts would offset damage done to wetlands and waterways. State officials also cited the State Environmental Policy Act to claim “diesel emissions” from trains, “adverse impacts to vehicle traffic,” and “[t]rain-related noise levels” were among other reasons why the project should be killed.
Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (D), who is currently running for mayor of New York City, blocked multiple pipeline projects during his tenure using Section 401. Cuomo blocked the Northern Access Pipeline in 2017, the Northeast Supply Enhancement Pipeline in 2018, and the Constitution Pipeline in 2019.
While natural gas pipeline projects were being blocked, New York has <a href="https://www.naturalgasintel.com/news/thousands-awaiting-natural-gas-service-in-new-york-amid-squeezed-supplies/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">suffered</a> under threats of shortages because of squeezed pipeline capacity. In January, the North American Electric Reliability Corp. <a href="https://www.nerc.com/news/Pages/Statement-on-NPCC-Northeast-GasElectric-System-Study.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> New York’s energy infrastructure is under “severe threats to reliability” because of its lack of extra pipeline capacity in the event of severe weather.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul (D) continued Cuomo’s stance against natural gas pipelines, blocking the Northern Access Pipeline again in 2024 after it had received approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. While the state’s top Democrats have continued to kill pipeline projects, New York energy prices have remained some of the <a href="https://www.electricchoice.com/electricity-prices-by-state/#:~:text=The%20average%20electric%20rate%20across,to%2042.34%20cents%20per%20kWh." target="_blank" rel="noopener">highest</a> in the country.

EXCLUSIVE: Trump EPA Cracks Down On Blue State Threats To American Energy Dominance

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