Chicago – February 12, 2026
The Trump administration’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has revoked the 2009 “endangerment finding,” a pivotal scientific determination that greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide threaten public health and welfare.
This move, hailed by President Donald Trump as “the single largest deregulatory action in American history,” eliminates the legal foundation for major U.S. climate regulations under the Clean Air Act, targeting emissions from vehicles, power plants, and factories.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, a former Republican congressman, labeled the finding “the Holy Grail of federal regulatory overreach,” arguing it burdened the economy and auto industry. The decision follows Trump’s executive order reviewing the finding’s validity and aligns with efforts to ease tailpipe emission standards, delaying Biden-era rules to promote affordable gasoline vehicles.
Environmental groups decried it as the biggest assault on federal climate authority, predicting legal battles. Critics like former EPA head Gina McCarthy insist the science has only strengthened, warning of unchecked pollution risks. Courts have upheld the finding, including Supreme Court rulings affirming greenhouse gases as pollutants.
