Critics have accused the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under President Donald Trump of abandoning its core mission of protecting public health and the environment in favour of promoting big business. In his second term, the EPA has initiated 66 environmental rollbacks, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council, including loosening limits on pollutants like mercury and soot, cancelling renewable energy grants, and removing climate crisis references from its website.
Former EPA administrator William Reilly, who served under George H.W. Bush, described the changes as 'revolutionary', noting that the agency had asked businesses to email requests for exemptions from air pollution rules. 'The notion you could be excused from a black letter law just by asking for it was startling to me,' he said.
Two key reversals have alarmed former staff. The EPA moved to rescind the 'endangerment finding', a 2009 determination that greenhouse gases harm human health, which would dismantle most federal climate regulations. Additionally, the agency said it would no longer consider the cost to human health from two common air pollutants when setting rules, while still weighing industry compliance costs.
Environmental epidemiologist Jenni Shearston warned this could lead to more air pollution. 'This move ignores the incredible success we’ve had in reducing air pollution while growing our economy,' she said. An EPA spokesperson defended the changes, stating that legal decisions are guided by scientific evidence of health risk, not dollar values, but did not clarify how future impacts would be modelled.
