Trump EPA Rule REVERSED By Federal Judge!
(RightWing.org) – In January 2017, newly inaugurated President Donald Trump ordered agencies must cut two regulations for every new regulation added. Businesses hailed the decision to lighten regulatory burdens and eliminate red tape as vital to improving the competitiveness of the United States around the world. Over his 4 years in office, Trump rolled back over 100 environmental rules.
The administration said the purpose of the rollbacks was to fulfill Trump’s campaign promises to provide certainty for states, local governments, and businesses. In short, rolling back some environmental regulations was a pragmatic economic move. Still, on Tuesday, July 5, one rule in particular was overturned by a California federal judge.
Federal Judge Overturns Trump Environmental Rule
In August 2019, the Trump administration said it was changing how the government applied the 1973 Endangered Species Act. For the first time, regulators would be allowed to consider economic factors in assessing whether or not a species needed government protections. In addition, regulators would have a more difficult time considering climate change that could happen decades in the future and its impact on wildlife.
Then-Interior Secretary David Bernhardt called the revisions a modernization to the Endangered Species Act that would increase transparency and make rules consistent across the board. Environmental opponents saw things differently. They argued the rules made it easier to increase oil and gas drilling, mining, and use of areas where protected animals live.
Environmental activist groups like Earthjustice and the Sierra Club and Democrats vowed to fight the rule changes and filed a lawsuit in federal court.On Tuesday, US District Judge Jon S. Tigar voided the Trump-era rules.
Judge Ignores Biden Administration
When President Joe Biden came into office in January 2021, the new administration began reviewing Trump’s changes to the Endangered Species Act in an effort to repeal them. In court, government regulators asked Judge Tigar not to toss the rules to prevent public confusion and minimize harm to animals while they work to make the changes they said were necessary. Tigar rejected their appeal.
Business groups conceded the court order was a significant setback. They argued that the government under former President Barack Obama went too far in interpreting the 1973 law. The American Farm Bureau Federation, the American Petroleum Institute, and the National Association of Home Builders stated that if the judge voided the Trump rules, it would be “an abuse of discretion.” The groups said they would review the order to decide if they would seek a review by a higher court.
For now, the court’s ruling completely overturns the 2019 rules changes. Federal agencies may immediately make new rules or re-implement old ones.
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