Trump gives worst polluters a free pass
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The gist
A New York Times investigation says Trump exempted 202 facilities in 39 states and Puerto Rico from clean-air rules.
About 3.3 million people live within three miles of at least one affected facility.
Background
Donald Trump is the U.S. president; the New York Times reports he used executive powers to exempt 202 facilities — including 71 coal plants, 71 chemical plants, 40 sterilizers, 19 steel-related facilities and 1 copper smelter — from clean-air regulations that were going into effect. The rules originated because the Clean Air Act requires the Environmental Protection Agency to periodically study the latest pollution controls and impose them if they are affordable and effective. The Times calls the exemptions the biggest presidential intervention in enforcement of the Clean Air Act since President Richard M. Nixon signed the law, and says they are one of several ways the administration is dismantling federal environmental protections.
How it unfolded
- 2024Chemical manufacturers, steel-making plants and facilities that sterilize medical devices were required to take steps to reduce their toxic emissions.
- date unknownSince taking office again, Trump exempted 202 facilities in 39 states and Puerto Rico from clean-air regulations that were going into effect.
- date unknownThe exemptions cover 71 coal plants, 71 chemical plants, 40 sterilizers, 19 steel-related facilities and 1 copper smelter; about 3.3 million people live within three miles of at least one affected facility.
- date unknownOn the outskirts of Richmond, Va., owners of an industrial warehouse asked the administration for a waiver; it was granted, and nine months later the facility accidentally released a large plume of carcinogenic gas into the community.
- Oct 24, 2026The New York Times publishes its six-month investigation, built on more than 10,000 pages of FOIA records and more than 70 interviews; reporter Eric Lipton posts about it, and Political Wire and Blue Virginia summarize the findings.
Who’s saying what
- Investigation
- The New York Times reports the exemptions represent the biggest presidential intervention in Clean Air Act enforcement in half a century and that Trump has gone further than any president in dismantling environmental regulations.
- Critics
- Daily Kos says the article shows the gutting of the EPA and its regulations to benefit the worst polluters, who it says donated to Trump and his inner circle.
- Roundup
- Blue Virginia summarizes that Trump temporarily waived clean-air rules for facilities emitting cancer-causing gases, then his appointees worked to gut the regulations.
Still unverified
Daily Kos, in a community post, claims the exemptions were made to benefit the pocketbooks of the worst polluters, who it says showered Trump and his inner circle with donations and rewards.