Trump Invokes “National Security” Exemption
Many More Exemptions To Follow Under Trump’s National Emergency Declarations
On Day One of the Trump administration (January 21, 2025), we warned:
Trump just did completely unconstitutional things via Executive Order and Executive Emergency Powers….
… under Trump’s “emergency” declarations, compliance with almost all laws is waived, as determined by Trump!
This is Trump’s version of Hitler’s Enabling Act – with the even worse abuse in that he did it via Executive power!
Today, the NY Times reports that Trump EPA will allow blanket 2 year exemptions from Clean Air Act regulatory mandates, including for emissions of toxic mercury:
The Biden administration required coal- and oil-burning power plants to greatly reduce emissions of toxic chemicals including mercury, which can harm babies’ brains and cause heart disease in adults.
Now, the Trump administration is offering companies an extraordinary out: Send an email, and they might be given permission by President Trump to bypass the new restrictions, as well as other major clean-air rules.
The Environmental Protection Agency this week said an obscure section of the Clean Air Act enables the president to temporarily exempt industrial facilities from new rules if the technology required to meet those rules isn’t available, or if it’s in the interest of national security.
In its notice to companies, the agency provided a template for companies to use to get approvals, including what to write in the email’s subject line. Then “the president will make a decision on the merits,” said the notice, issued by the E.P.A. on Monday.
Take a look at the initial list of regulations under the EPA exemption program.
So there it is: Trump will personally issue exemptions to polluters, based solely on an email request – no standards, no requirements, no public process.
Trump already declared a “National Energy Emergency” so the national security interest is already in place before any exemption request is even filed.
And on top of that, EPA prepared the template for the email exemption request and will use the 2 year exemption period to rollback the current regulations!
It does not get more corrupt than that.
You can expect a LOT more of this kind of corruption, because almost all regulatory programs have either national security of National Emergency exemptions and the President has extraordinary powers under a declared National Emergency.
And we warned about that on day one.
[Correction: Actually, we warned about all that in July of 2023, BEFORE the election:
Chapter 13 provides a radical agenda to dismantle EPA and virtually all regulatory, science, and climate programs.]
[Update – EPA published the email address for the exemption requests, see:
airaction@epa.gov
I strongly urge people to file multiple emails to that address and just jam the system. See below:
———- Original Message ———-
From: Bill WOLFE <b>
To: “airaction@epa.gov” <airaction@epa.gov>
Cc: “shawn.latourette@dep.nj.gov” <shawn.latourette@dep.nj.gov>
Date: 03/27/2025 12:32 PM EDT
Subject: Section 112 Exemption request
Dear EPA – This exemption initiative is a blatant and corrupt abuse of power and strongly contrary to science, the law, and public health.
Administrator Zeldin testified under oath during his Senate confirmation hearing that he would follow the science and comply with the law. He perjured himself (and previously did so in recommending withdrawal of the “endangerment finding”).
This can not stand and must be revoked immediately.
Bill Wolfe