On Thursday, February 12th, President Trump and the head of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Lee Zeldin, jointly announced the repeal of the EPA’s endangerment finding from the Obama era in 2009. This move marks another significant step by the Trump administration in relaxing regulations. Zeldin stated that this action would lower the cost of purchasing vehicles for American families.
In 2009, the Obama administration deemed carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases as harmful to public health. This “endangerment finding” prompted the EPA to take action to curb emissions of carbon dioxide, methane, and other four greenhouse gases from vehicles, power plants, and other industries.
On Thursday, President Trump, accompanied by Zeldin, declared the repeal of the Obama-era EPA endangerment finding, saying, “Based on the EPA’s just-completed process, we are formally terminating the so-called ‘endangerment finding.’ This was a disastrous policy from the Obama era, severely damaging the American auto industry and raising prices for American consumers.”
The EPA stated that rescinding this regulation would save taxpayers in the US $13 trillion. Zeldin expressed, “The Great American Revival is based on a core goal: providing clean air, land, and water for all Americans while fully unleashing the enormous potential of the American economy. This is vastly different from our previous government. We believe we can and must balance both.”
This latest announcement terminates the federal greenhouse gas emission standards for all vehicles and engines from 2012 to 2027.
Zeldin noted that the EPA has completed the largest deregulatory act in US history. “With today’s announcement, American families will save over $2400 on the purchase of a new car,” he said.
On his inauguration day in 2025, Trump signed an executive order directing the EPA to submit an assessment report to evaluate whether the “endangerment finding” should be retained. The Obama-Biden administration had used this finding to set greenhouse gas emission limits for vehicles, power plants, and large industrial facilities. In July 2025, the EPA announced a proposal to revoke this finding.
“Over the past year, I have traveled to all 50 states in the US and heard countless voices of the American people, who not only dislike auto start-stop systems but also passionately advocate for the elimination of this mechanism,” Zeldin said when discussing Thursday’s announcement of regulatory easing.
“Under the endangerment finding, they forced American consumers to use the annoying auto start-stop feature… The endangerment finding was also used to forcibly implement costly electric vehicle policies… These restrictive measures are a major factor driving car prices to unprecedented levels,” Trump stated.
The Trump administration’s move to repeal these regulations is expected to face legal challenges. Firstly, environmental groups accuse that this action is the most significant blow to federal government efforts to combat climate change.
The Environmental Defense Fund believes that this action by the Trump administration will only lead to more pollution, ultimately causing higher costs and real harm to American families.
Regarding American citizens who believe that repealing this climate plan may “harm public health and the environment,” President Trump stated, “This has nothing to do with public health. This is all a sham – a massive sham.”