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Daily Caller

Trump Could Upend Every Facet Of The Obama-Biden Climate Agenda In One Fell Swoop

Published

3 months ago

6 minute read

 

From the Daily Caller News Foundation

By David Blackmon

Every week in this second Donald Trump presidency is such a whirlwind of major events that it is always a challenge to pick a topic for the next contribution here at the Daily Caller News Foundation.

But, despite this having been one of the most frenzied weeks of all since Jan. 20, picking the topic for this column was easy, because no energy-related action by this administration would have a bigger impact on American society than a successful effort to reverse the Obama EPA’s 2009 endangerment finding on greenhouse gas regulation.

The Washington Post reported Wednesday that Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin “has privately urged the White House to strike down a scientific finding underpinning much of the federal government’s push to combat climate change, according to three people briefed on the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly.” Zeldin’s recommendation was a response to Trump’s Day 1 executive order tasking Zeldin to conduct a review of “the legality and continuing applicability of the Administrator’s findings, ‘Endangerment and Cause or Contribute Findings for Greenhouse Gases Under Section 202(a) of the Clean Air Act,” Final Rule, 74 FR 66496 (December 15, 2009).’”

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The Obama EPA’s finding was enabled by the 2007 5-4 ruling by the Supreme Court in the Massachusetts v. EPA case allowing the agency to regulate greenhouse gases as pollutants in the context of the Clean Air Act. In that case, Justice Anthony Kennedy, who long served as the swing vote on the Court, joined with four liberal justices to give EPA this authority.

Given that the main so-called “greenhouse gases” — water vapor, methane and carbon dioxide — are all naturally occurring elements, a ruling classifying them as “pollutants” as that term was intended by the authors of the Clean Air Act in 1963 was absurd on its face, but that didn’t stop the five justices from imposing their political will on U.S. society.

Since implemented by the Obama EPA, the endangerment finding has served as the foundational basis for the vast expansion of climate change regulations impacting every nook and cranny of the U.S. economy, dramatically increasing the cost of energy for all Americans. The climate alarm hysteria over carbon dioxide, otherwise known as plant food and the basis for all life in Planet Earth, was also the motivational basis for every aspect of the Biden-era efforts to force taxpayers to bear the cost of hundreds of billions of dollars in renewable energy subsidies.

So, what has changed between 2007 and today to make Administrator Zeldin and President Trump think their attempt to reverse this endangerment finding would survive all the court challenges that would arise from the climate alarm community?

First, there is the dramatic shift in the makeup of the Supreme Court. Justice Kennedy is no longer on the court, nor are the other four justices who issued the majority decision in Massachusetts v. EPA. Where the Court was evenly divided in 2007, today’s Supreme Court is made up of a decisive 6-3 originalist majority with three justices appointed by Donald Trump himself during his first presidency.

But an even more decisive difference now stems from last year’s reversal of the Chevron Deference by the Supreme Court in the Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo case. As I wrote here at the time, the Chevron Deference, established as a legal doctrine in a unanimous Supreme Court decision in 1984, required the federal judiciary to defer to the regulators’ judgments about the governing statutes whenever the statutory intent was vague and open to interpretation.

That doctrine of law led directly to the vast expansion of the regulatory state for the 40 years it was in effect. The question now becomes whether, in the absence of that doctrine, regulators at the EPA truly have the authority to regulate atmospheric plant food in the same way they regulate particulate matter and other forms of real air pollution.

A successful effort to reverse the Obama EPA endangerment finding would then put every element of the Obama/Biden climate agenda in jeopardy.

Mr. Trump likes to say he wants to bring common sense back to government. This is one big way to do exactly that.

David Blackmon is an energy writer and consultant based in Texas. He spent 40 years in the oil and gas business, where he specialized in public policy and communications.

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Daily Caller

LA Anti-ICE Chaos, Clashes With Police Spreading Around America

Published on June 11, 2025

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From the Daily Caller News Foundation

By Hudson Crozier

The unrest that has consumed Los Angeles in recent days appears to be spreading elsewhere as numerous rioters outraged at immigration raids were arrested across the country on Tuesday night.

Los Angeles authorities began making “mass arrests” late Tuesday and issued a curfew following days of rioting sparked by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrests of illegal immigrants in the area. Businesses were seen in the process of boarding up their buildings in anticipation of possible looting, the Daily Caller News Foundation reported.

Local media outlets reported that major U.S. cities saw their own versions of Los Angeles’ chaos Tuesday night, with alleged assaults of police officers, fires, rock-throwing and other acts of violence. Protests and resulting arrests had already started to spread beyond Los Angeles as of Monday night.

Seattle

At least two people were arrested after protesters tore down American flags at a federal building in Seattle and burned them on Tuesday night, according to multiple reports. Earlier that day, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officers were seen on video shoving back Antifa-style militants and firing crowd control munitions after the activists tried to block entrances and exits to the building, which houses an immigration court.

New York City

Eighty-six people were arrested overnight starting on Tuesday evening as protesters marched to a Manhattan immigration court and other locations, local outlet ABC7 reported. Police said people threw bottles at protesters and debris and traffic cones onto the road. Charges included assault, resisting arrest, reckless endangerment and obstructing government administration.

One exchange caught on video showed a woman pleading with protesters to let her drive past them on the road so she could go to work.

Illegal migrants “are having their children taken and their parents,” a traffic-blocking activist told the driver.

Another video posted by Sky News showed a mob trying to force its way past a wall of officers while screaming.

Denver

Protesters began gathering at the Colorado State Capitol building in Denver on Tuesday before moving off in a crowd to block traffic on two streets, Colorado Newsline reported. Police ended up in confrontations with rioters throughout the evening, arresting at least 17 on charges such as obstruction of streets, graffiti, assaulting a peace officer and unlawful throwing of projectiles, according to 9News. Police were reportedly seen throwing smoke bombs and pepper balls to disperse crowds.

Atlanta

Organizers of an anti-ICE rally in Atlanta on Tuesday night had agreed to disperse by 9 p.m., but some protesters remained and set off scuffles with police, a local Fox network reported. Rioters damaged three police squad cars by throwing rocks, police said, and threw fireworks at officers. Police used tear gas to disperse the agitators and arrested at least six.

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Crime

LA Mayor Karen Bass Makes New Demands Of Trump At Monday Night Press Conference

Published on June 10, 2025

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From the Daily Caller News Foundation

By Mariane Angela

During a Monday night press briefing, Democratic Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass told the Trump administration to stop the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in Los Angeles.

President Donald Trump deployed the National Guard to Los Angeles on Saturday after riots erupted following an ICE raid at a Home Depot. During Monday’s press briefing, Bass called for an end to the raids conducted by the Trump administration, claiming that the power to deploy troops or request assistance should lie with state and local officials, not the federal government.

“I would say stop the raids. Stop the raids, period. I would say give the power back to our governor, and if we need the National Guard, we can do it in the normal circumstances, which is the request is made local, and the governor decides, or not to, grant that to our city,” Bass said when asked what she would say to the Trump administration.

Bass reiterated her earlier stance and questioned the need for an additional military presence, given the National Guard’s current role in securing federal buildings.

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“We didn’t need the National Guard. Why on earth? What are they going to do? Do you know what the National Guard is doing now? They are guarding two buildings,” Bass said when asked to react to the deployment of Marines.

Bass then called the deployment an unjustified and overreaching action.

“They are guarding the federal building here in downtown, and they’re guarding the federal building in Westwood. That’s what they’re doing. So they need Marines on top of it? I don’t understand that. That’s why I feel like we are part of an experiment that we did not ask to be a part of,” Bass added.

Despite Bass claiming that the National Guard’s deployment was unnecessary, Fox News reporter Bill Melugin shared videos showing ICE agents in one of the vehicles being struck by rocks. Melugin also posted additional footage and photos of the aftermath, including an image of an ICE agent’s injury and a windshield damaged by a rioter’s rock.

Around 1,000 individuals wreaked havoc in Los Angeles Friday night, surrounding a federal building, attacking ICE agents, deflating tires and vandalizing government property, according to the Department of Homeland Security. The unrest caused significant damage and severe traffic disruptions, bringing several key city roads to a complete standstill.

On Saturday night, Trump authorized the deployment of the National Guard to assist local law enforcement and warned Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom that the federal government would intervene if local authorities failed to restore order.

In response, California filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration Monday, challenging the deployment of National Guard troops to Los Angeles to address the immigration riots. Attorney General Rob Bonta and Newsom said that federalizing 2,000 California National Guard members without Newsom’s consent exceeded the president’s authority.

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