Trump Orders Federal Agencies to 'Sunset' Green Protections

Federal agencies like the EPA, Department of Energy, and Fish and Wildlife Service have received their mandate from the top: It's time to let go of a slew of environmental protections. On Wednesday evening, President Trump signed an executive order that directed agencies tied to energy and environmental guidance to allow certain regulations to "sunset," by October 2026. Trump wants said agencies to have their sunset plan in place by Sept. 30. More:

• The regulations in question are linked to such matters as offshore drilling, mining, and energy standards for appliances, with the phasing-out serving as an effort to escape "an energy landscape perpetually trapped in the 1970s," according to Trump's order. "Our vast regulatory structure often serves to constrict ordered liberty, not promote it," Trump's order continues, per the Daily Beast. "By rescinding outdated regulations that serve as a drag on progress, we can stimulate innovation and deliver prosperity to everyday Americans."

• Other affected departments and agencies, per the Hill and Utility Dive, include the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, and US Army Corps of Engineers. All agency heads have been instructed to team up with DOGE staffers and the Office of Management and Budget to work on this.
• There will be exemptions that allow agencies to stretch the sunsetting for up to five years, though the Hill notes it's not clear just how many exemptions are anticipated.
• Environmental officials and activists aren't pleased. "Attempting to repeal every environmental safeguard enacted over the past 50 years with an executive order is beyond delusional," says Brett Hartl of the Center for Biological Diversity, per the Hill. Hartl calls the directive "farcical," saying it will destroy measures "that protect endangered whales, prevent oil spills, and reduce the risk of a nuclear accident."
• Ari Peskoe, director of Harvard Law School's Electricity Law Initiative, calls the order "impossible to implement," "blatantly illegal," and "deeply misguided," saying it "just makes no sense" and "reveals a fundamental misunderstanding of how agencies work," per Utility Dive.
• Hartl adds to the Hill that "steps like this will be laughed out of court." Indeed, consumer watchdog group Public Citizen has already indicated it plans to sue.

(More environment stories.)