On November 5, Donald Trump was re-elected as President. He announced that he has selected Former New York Congressman Lee Zeldin to head the nation’s leading environmental agency, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). What can we expect from a second Trump Administration in environmental law? Based on President-Elect Trump’s campaign platform,^[1] his actions during his first term, and Zeldin’s votes from his term in Congress, we can expect the following:

• Regulatory Rollbacks: President-Elect Trump has promised aggressive deregulatory efforts. For example, a second Trump Administration may relax regulations on methane emissions, fracking, and drilling to allow expanded and expedited traditional energy production, including on public lands, aimed at establishing what he describes as “energy dominance.” Asked what his priorities would be on day one, Zeldin reiterated President-Elect Trump’s commitment to “energy dominance” and praised “the opportunity to roll back regulations that are forcing businesses to…struggle.”^[2]
• Withdrawal from the Paris Agreement: The Paris Agreement is a legally binding international treaty on climate change, which sets a goal to limit the average global temperature to less than 2º Celsius above pre-industrial levels. The 2015 Agreement was adopted by 196 parties, including the U.S. In President Trump’s first term, he withdrew the U.S. from the Paris Agreement. President Biden recommitted the U.S. to the Paris Agreement. President-Elect Trump is expected to again withdraw the country from the Agreement in his second term.
• Limiting EPA Resources: President-Elect Trump is likely to attempt to reduce the influence of the EPA by reducing its budget, which could decrease EPA enforcement activity, decrease the Biden Administration’s emphasis on environmental justice considerations, and usher in more activity at the state level. While in Congress, Zeldin voted against a Republican amendment that would have slashed funding to the EPA, so he may counsel against significant cuts to the agency’s budget.
• Defunding Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA): President-Elect Trump has criticized the Biden-era IRA and has pledged to rescind the remaining funding available under the IRA, although these efforts may be tempered by bipartisan support for particular projects.
• Less Administrative Agency Deference: The U.S. Supreme Court’s June 2024 holding in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo^[3] reversed the longstanding Chevron doctrine that provided significant deference to agencies’ statutory interpretations. The Second Trump Administration is likely to leverage this recent decision to challenge agency actions that it deems inconsistent with its priorities, such as the EPA’s motor vehicle emissions standards.

While the Second Trump Administration is likely to significantly alter federal environmental priorities, companies that do business internationally and/or in states with more stringent environmental laws, like California, or companies that have strong market reasons for pursuing environmental initiatives, may stay the course.

^{[1] Platform | Donald J. Trump; Agenda47: America Must Have the #1 Lowest Cost Energy and Electricity on Earth | Agenda47 | Donald J. Trump}

^{[2] Trump picks GOP former congressman Lee Zeldin to lead the EPA | CNN Politics; Trump taps former New York Congressman Lee Zeldin to lead EPA | Fox News}

^{[3] 22-451 Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo (06/28/2024)}