Trump Administration
The California Car Waiver and the Congressional Review Act
Trump has found a possible way to end run California’s legal arguments for the waiver. But there’s no reason to give up.
If the CRA resolution does go through, California should wait until after the midterms, when Democrats are favored to take the House, and then try again with different formulated regulations. When the Trump Administration rejects them, it could then litigate whether the new versions were “substantially the same” as the old ones.
CONTINUE READINGWhat Happens If EPA Revokes the Endangerment Finding?
The action would mean full-blown warfare against all things climate.
We are likely to learn next week if the Trump Administration will eviscerate the most important climate regulations the Biden Administration issued over the last four years. Under Trump’s “Unleashing American Energy” Executive Order, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin is supposed to recommend by February 19 whether to reverse the central basis for much of the …
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CONTINUE READINGWhy I Still ♥ IRA
Biden’s climate law has already had a dramatic impact.
With over a half-trillion dollars in clean tech investment to date, the Inflation Reduction Act has left an indelible mark on U.S. climate policy. It’s unlikely that Congress will vote to repeal the whole law, given massive investments in GOP congressional districts. But even if they did, there’s no undoing the investments already made.
CONTINUE READINGThe Economics of Civil Service Abolitionism
Would elimination of civil service protection increase government efficiency? Probably not.
Economists have been thinking a long time about why employers sometimes grant job security and often adopt seniority systems. It seems likely that, all else aside, Schedule F will degrade the general quality of government workers. It’s not at all clear that the efficiency benefits of threatening people with firing are enough to outweigh having a less capable and less experienced workforce.
CONTINUE READINGA Trumped-Up Energy Emergency
We have weathered past threats to energy security through democratic processes, not by executive fiat.
The Executive Order has fabricated an energy emergency and is doubly wrongheaded. First, as the statistics bear out, there is neither a domestic energy emergency nor an energy crisis. The U.S. has effectively secured energy independence. More significantly, Trump’s politically driven, fossil fuel-dependent energy portfolio is neither diversified nor economically sound.
CONTINUE READINGPresidential Blitzkrieg: Good Tactics, Questionable Strategy
Flooding the zone has short-term benefits but possible long-term costs.
Trump has issued a flood of executive orders. Many of those actions relate to energy and environment, with the general intent of handicapping clean energy and promoting fossil fuels. Flooding the zone has undoubtedly helped him dominate the news and may have stunned opponents. But shirt-ternm success doesn’t always translate into long-term gains.
CONTINUE READINGA Disinformation Deluge on California Policies
Trump and House Republicans are trying to ‘flood the zone’ when it comes to wrongly blaming California environmental regulations for the LA fires.
Trump’s longtime strategy of ‘flooding the zone” — aka overwhelming opponents with a flurry of announcements and superficial initiatives — took a literal turn last week, when his administration ordered the release of a significant amount of water from two dams in the Central Valley to try to score political points. As the New York …
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CONTINUE READINGCrisis at DOJ’s Environment & Natural Resources Division
Guest contributors Sommer Engels, Andrew Mergen, and Justin Pidot write that dismantling ENRD will be disastrous for future administrations, the American people, and even for the Trump Administration.
The Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD) of the Department of Justice faces its most profound crisis since it was established in 1909. In a little over a week, the Trump administration has (1) reassigned four career managers (leading nearly half of ENRD’s sections) to the newly formed Office of Sanctuary Cities Enforcement; (2) placed …
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CONTINUE READINGTariffs and Clean Energy: What You Need to Know
The effect of tariffs on energy markets is complex, and a lot depends on the details.
International trade economics is complicated, and we can’t be certain of how tariffs will work out, particularly in the long term when economies have fully adjusted to them. Trump’s hope is that the tariffs will cause a boom in U.S. production, although there is also evidence that protected industries are less efficient and innovative, resulting in higher consumer prices. Impacts on clean energy could be negative, The same is true for impacts on fossil fuels.
CONTINUE READINGThe Green-State Playbook
Here are five ways states can save climate policy despite Trump.
Trump’s election is a body blow to U.S. climate policy, but there are ways that those states can fight Trump and move forward on their own plans. To cut to the chase, here are five key strategies for green states — starting with lawsuits against the Trump Administration, which were highly successful in Trump’s first term.
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