Trump EPA Revocation Relied on Climate Working Group Report Internally Flagged as Misleading, Emails Show
The Trump administration has formally revoked the 2009 greenhouse‑gas "endangerment finding"—announced by President Trump and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin as a sweeping deregulatory move that will roll back vehicle CO2 standards and, the agency says, reflects limits on Clean Air Act authority—claiming large economic savings while prompting immediate legal challenges. Internal emails and DOE reviews obtained by MS NOW show the Climate Working Group draft relied on to justify the repeal was flagged by staff as "misleading," "inaccurate" and "cherry‑picked," even as some scientists dismissed opposing analyses, while the National Academies concluded the original finding still stands, raising questions about the rule’s scientific and legal basis.
📌 Key Facts
- EPA formally revoked the 2009 greenhouse‑gas "endangerment finding" in a White House rollout with President Trump and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin and moved to terminate federal CO2 standards for cars and trucks.
- The White House and EPA framed the action as the largest deregulatory move in U.S. history, claiming about $1.3 trillion in avoided costs and more than $2,400 in average per‑vehicle savings, and argued the Clean Air Act does not authorize regulating greenhouse gases.
- Internal emails and DOE reviews obtained by MS NOW show the Climate Working Group’s draft report was flagged by department staff as "misleading," "inaccurate," "not true" and "cherry picked," with at least one working‑group scientist dismissing the National Academies’ re‑evaluation as "useless" and urging a "DOGE treatment," and other emails noting administration lawyers believed they could win legally "without the science."
- The National Academies’ fresh review concluded the original endangerment finding "has stood the test of time" and is supported by even stronger science — a conclusion at odds with the working‑group draft and the administration’s justification for repeal.
- Legal and policy analysts expect immediate, rapid litigation; rescinding the finding is likely to prompt challenges over EPA authority and could undercut rules for power plants, oil and gas sites and other sectors that relied on the same legal basis, while environmental groups (Earthjustice, EDF, UCS) have vowed to sue.
- Modeling and experts say market forces, state policies and existing measures will keep U.S. emissions falling, but Rhodium Group projections show the repeal would weaken the 2035 emissions reduction (about 26–35% below 2005 levels with repeal versus 32–44% with the rules intact), and neither trajectory meets prior Biden targets.
- Industry voices (Tesla, Edison Electric Institute) warned the repeal undermines a stable regulatory platform for investments, could produce a patchwork of state CO2 rules, and spur fast litigation; some analysts predict the administration may seek a favorable Supreme Court resolution.
- EPA told reporters the final rule would be published once interagency review is complete and the administrator signs it, and OMB postings and scheduled outside‑party meetings indicated the rule was in the last stages of review when reporting occurred.
📰 Source Timeline (15)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
February 13, 2026
11:31 AM
Bombshell emails show Trump admin knowningly put forward faulty science to deregulate pollution
New information:
- MS NOW obtained DOE internal reviews of the Energy Secretary’s five‑member Climate Working Group draft report, in which department staff described portions of the draft as 'misleading,' 'inaccurate,' 'not true,' and 'cherry picked.'
- Emails from at least one Climate Working Group scientist show they dismissed the National Academies’ re‑evaluation of the endangerment finding as 'useless' without reading it and said the Academies 'deserve the DOGE treatment.'
- Another working‑group email states that administration lawyers 'believe they can win this fight without the science' but conceded that 'if the science argument is decided upon by a vote, or by the number of published citations, we lose.'
- The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, in a fresh review triggered by Zeldin’s proposal, concluded the original endangerment finding 'has stood the test of time' and is now backed by even stronger science.
- EDF president Fred Krupp is quoted calling the repeal 'unlawful' in light of prior Supreme Court decisions and vowing to challenge it in court, arguing the working‑group report 'is not the least bit credible or scientific.'
February 12, 2026
11:36 PM
Trump administration revokes rule allowing federal greenhouse gas regulations
New information:
- CBS explicitly frames the move in plain language as meaning 'greenhouse gases... will no longer be regulated by federal agencies,' clarifying the practical impact for a general audience.
- The segment confirms the timing as a presidentially announced rollback made 'on Thursday,' aligning the legal rule issuance with a high‑profile White House communications push.
- It adds on‑the‑record characterization from CBS’s senior White House correspondent about this being a 'key environmental government finding,' underscoring its centrality to past climate rules.
11:35 PM
Trump rolls back landmark policy regulating greenhouse emissions
New information:
- Confirms from a second national outlet (PBS) that EPA has now officially repealed the greenhouse‑gas 'endangerment finding,' not just announced plans to do so.
- Clarifies that, until this action, the endangerment finding was widely understood as the legal foundation for federal climate regulations across multiple sectors.
- Places the rollback in PBS’s ongoing 'Tipping Point' climate series, signaling sustained media scrutiny and public‑education efforts around the policy shift.
11:16 PM
EPA chief Lee Zeldin asked if "endangerment finding" repeal will harm public health, environment
New information:
- CBS News conducted an exclusive interview with EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin specifically pressing him on whether repealing the endangerment finding will harm public health and the environment.
- Zeldin publicly defended President Trump’s decision in that interview, framing the repeal as justified despite the prior finding that greenhouse gases endanger human health.
- The segment reiterates that the 2009 endangerment finding was the legal basis for EPA’s authority to regulate carbon emissions, underscoring the magnitude of the reversal.
10:02 PM
EPA head Lee Zeldin defends decision to revoke "endangerment finding" on greenhouse gases
New information:
- Lee Zeldin went on CBS News to personally defend revoking the 2009 'endangerment finding' that classifies CO₂ and methane as threats to public health and welfare.
- He framed the move as a corrective to Obama‑era policy and part of the Trump administration’s broader climate and regulatory rollback, arguing greenhouse gases should not be regulated under the existing Clean Air Act framework.
- The interview reinforces that the administration sees the revocation as a cornerstone of its climate and auto‑emissions strategy, not a one‑off legal adjustment.
7:29 PM
Trump announces repeal of "endangerment finding" that greenhouse gases pose public health threat
New information:
- CBS report explicitly characterizes the endangerment finding as 'the scientific cornerstone of U.S. climate regulation' and says Trump is revoking it, underscoring the administration’s intent to attack the core legal and scientific basis for regulating greenhouse gases as a public‑health threat.
- The announcement is presented as a presidential-level move, not just an EPA rulemaking, clarifying that this is a top-line White House climate-policy decision rather than a narrower regulatory tweak on vehicles.
6:44 PM
EPA abandons the foundation of greenhouse gas rules
New information:
- Axios confirms EPA’s final rule explicitly removes the 2009 endangerment finding for vehicle greenhouse-gas emissions and pairs it with repeal of CO2 standards for cars and trucks, with EPA now claiming it lacks authority to impose such standards.
- The article details that EPA rests its move on an interpretation of the 2007 Massachusetts v. EPA decision and later Supreme Court rulings in 2022 and 2024 that limit agency authority in 'major questions' cases.
- Tesla’s formal comments are quoted warning that repealing the endangerment finding would undermine a 'stable regulatory platform' for its EV investments, while the Edison Electric Institute cautioned the repeal could trigger a patchwork of conflicting state CO2 rules for power plants and new litigation.
- Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health executive Lisa Patel is quoted saying the decision prioritizes big oil and gas profits over public health and climate response.
- Policy analysts like Capital Alpha’s James Lucier are cited predicting rapid D.C. Circuit litigation and a Trump push to secure a favorable Supreme Court ruling by July 2028.
4:29 PM
WATCH LIVE: Trump, Zeldin to announce end of scientific basis for U.S. action on climate change
New information:
- Confirms timing and format of the White House rollout: a 1:30 p.m. EST speech by President Trump and a ceremony with EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin to 'formalize' the rescission.
- White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt explicitly characterizes the move as 'the largest deregulatory action in American history,' claiming $1.3 trillion in avoided costs and more than $2,400 in per‑vehicle savings for popular light‑duty cars, SUVs and trucks.
- EPA press secretary Brigit Hirsch calls the original endangerment finding 'one of the most damaging decisions in modern history' and says EPA is 'actively working to deliver a historic action for the American people.'
- Environmental law group Earthjustice, via president Abigail Dillen, signals an immediate court challenge, calling the rescission impossible to reconcile with 'the law, the science and the reality of disasters' and vowing to sue.
- The article reiterates that the 2009 endangerment finding is the legal basis for nearly all greenhouse‑gas regulations under the Clean Air Act, so rescinding it would effectively undercut motor‑vehicle and power‑plant climate rules.
11:31 AM
6 GOP reps defy Trump to block Canadian tariffs. And, student loan defaults rise
New information:
- NPR flags that the EPA’s formal revocation of the 2009 greenhouse‑gas endangerment finding is expected 'today,' anchoring the timing alongside the three hottest years on record.
- The piece reiterates that EPA now claims the Clean Air Act does not give it legal authority to regulate greenhouse gases, framing this as a radical shift in how the law is interpreted.
11:00 AM
Trump's EPA is revoking the "endangerment finding." Here's what to know.
New information:
- Confirms that President Trump and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin have now formally revoked the 2009 greenhouse‑gas endangerment finding, not merely proposed it.
- Details White House claims that repeal will save the public roughly $1.3 trillion and cut more than $2,400 from the average price of a new light‑duty vehicle.
- Quotes environmental groups (Union of Concerned Scientists, Environmental Defense Fund) calling the move corrupt, dangerous and economically short‑sighted, and notes the EPA’s own prior data showing stronger fuel‑economy rules would lower, not raise, gas costs.
- Highlights legal experts’ view that the revocation is built on science and law already upheld by federal courts, making the new rule highly vulnerable to litigation under Supreme Court precedent that greenhouse gases are pollutants subject to the Clean Air Act.
- Adds business‑community perspective (Cornell’s John Tobin‑de la Puente) that companies are unlikely to bank long‑term investments on the rollback because a future administration is likely to restore carbon regulation.
10:00 AM
Greenhouse gas emissions will keep falling despite Trump's climate rollback
New information:
- Provides Rhodium Group projections that without major EPA rules backed by the endangerment finding, U.S. emissions in 2035 would be 26–35% below 2005 levels, versus 32–44% below 2005 with those rules intact.
- Clarifies that neither trajectory comes close to the Biden administration’s prior target of at least a 61% cut by 2035, roughly in line with the Paris Agreement’s 'well below 2°C' goal.
- Quotes former top EPA air official Jeff Holmstead arguing the endangerment finding itself has directly reduced 'very little, if any' emissions since 2009 because rules have been delayed, challenged or repealed.
- Notes that modeling and expert commentary suggest market forces—cheap renewables and gas displacing coal—are now the primary drivers of U.S. power-sector decarbonization, limiting the near-term impact of repeal.
- Adds context that repeated regulatory whiplash across the Obama, Trump, Biden and current Trump terms has exposed how fragile it is to base climate policy on a single, litigated Clean Air Act finding rather than durable legislation.
February 11, 2026
10:31 AM
Trump's EPA plans to end a key climate pollution regulation
New information:
- Confirms the rescission will be formally announced Thursday at the White House with EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin joining President Trump.
- Explicitly states EPA now argues the Clean Air Act does not give it legal authority to regulate greenhouse gases at all.
- Specifies that, along with ending the endangerment finding, EPA will terminate climate-pollution rules for cars and trucks, even though transportation is currently the largest source of direct U.S. greenhouse-gas emissions.
- Includes new on-the-record reaction from Earthjustice president Abigail Dillen vowing to sue, calling the move a 'slap in the face' to Americans living through climate disasters.
- Further situates the move as part of a direct effort to dismantle Biden-era climate policy and to implement Heritage Foundation Project 2025 recommendations.
February 10, 2026
5:24 PM
Trump set to gut U.S. climate change policy and environmental regulations, White House official says
New information:
- Confirms via a White House official that EPA will issue a final rule this week rescinding the 2009 endangerment finding, not just for vehicles but as the overarching legal basis for climate regulation under the Clean Air Act.
- Includes an on‑the‑record statement from White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt calling this 'the most significant deregulatory actions in history' to 'unleash American energy dominance.'
- Quotes EPA spokesperson Brigit Hirsch calling the 2009 finding 'one of the most damaging decisions in modern history' and saying EPA is 'actively working to deliver a historic action for the American people.'
- Details that legal challenges are expected immediately, with environmental groups describing the move as the single biggest attack ever on federal climate efforts.
- Adds context that Trump previously ordered EPA to review the legality and 'continuing applicability' of the finding, and notes Administrator Lee Zeldin’s argument that Democrats used it to 'regulate out of existence' parts of the economy.
1:42 PM
EPA's "endangerment finding" rescission looms
New information:
- EPA told Axios on Tuesday that the final rule rescinding the 2009 endangerment finding for motor vehicles will be published once interagency review is complete and the administrator signs it.
- Administrator Lee Zeldin is quoted calling the move 'the largest act of deregulation in the history of the United States,' underscoring the administration’s own framing of its significance.
- The White House Office of Management and Budget’s website still lists the rule as under review, with outside‑party meetings scheduled through Thursday, indicating the process is in its last stages.
- Axios notes that while the rule is written to remove the finding for motor‑vehicle emissions, it is expected to invite broader legal challenges to EPA’s authority over power plants, oil and gas sites and other sources that rely on the same underlying endangerment logic.