Tag: standards

  • Trump orders immediate end to Biden’s crackdown on household appliances, return to ‘common sense standards’

    Trump orders immediate end to Biden’s crackdown on household appliances, return to ‘common sense standards’

    President Donald Trump is ordering the immediate reversal of Biden-era green energy regulations on household appliances and the reinstatement of environmental orders issued under his first term.

    During his term, former President Joe Biden issued more stringent climate standards for various household appliances, such as gas stoves, washing machines and dishwashers, which energy experts and manufacturers have warned could lead to more expensive alternatives that are far less effective than current models.

    Trump, in a Truth Social post early Tuesday morning, called on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), led by former Rep. Lee Zeldin, to immediately undo Biden’s climate mandates and return to “common sense standards.”

    “I am hereby instructing Secretary Lee Zeldin to immediately go back to my Environmental Orders, which were terminated by Crooked Joe Biden, on Water Standards and Flow pertaining to SINKS, SHOWERS, TOILETS, WASHING MACHINES, DISHWASHERS, etc., and to likewise go back to the common sense standards on LIGHTBULBS, that were put in place by the Trump Administration, but terminated by Crooked Joe,” Trump wrote. 

    ENERGY EXPERTS BLAST FAILED BILLION-DOLLAR DOE PROJECT AS ‘FINANCIAL BOONDOGGLE,’ ‘DISASTER’

    President Donald Trump called on the EPA to immediately reverse Biden’s climate standards for household appliances. (Getty Images)

    “I look forward to signing these Orders,” the president said. “THANK YOU!!!”

    PRESIDENT TRUMP’S PRO-ENERGY AGENDA WILL UNLEASH AMERICAN JOBS AND ENERGY SECURITY

    Republican lawmakers, who have the majority in both the House and the Senate, have also started taking actions in Congress to derail Biden’s green energy standards for appliances. 

    Lee Zeldin serves as President Donald Trump's head of the Environmental Protection Agency.

    Lee Zeldin serves as President Donald Trump’s head of the Environmental Protection Agency. (Al Drago)

    Rep. Stephanie Bice, R-Oka., introduced a joint resolution of disapproval against the standards for coolers and freezers enacted by the Biden administration that were set to go into effect in February, reported first by Fox News Digital. 

    Additionally, Rep. Gary Palmer, R-Ala., introduced a resolution to block Biden’s ban on water heaters, which was announced first by Fox News Digital.

    In this photo illustration, flames burn on a natural gas-burning stove on Jan. 12, 2023 in Chicago.

    In this photo illustration, flames burn on a natural gas-burning stove on Jan. 12, 2023 in Chicago. (Scott Olson)

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    Also in January, the House passed the “Liberty in Laundry Act” to prevent the Energy secretary and Department of Energy from “implementing new or amended energy efficiency standards for clothes washers that are not technologically feasible and economically justified.”

  • Trump attacks DEI policies after DC plane crash, says FAA employees must be held to ‘highest standards’

    Trump attacks DEI policies after DC plane crash, says FAA employees must be held to ‘highest standards’

    President Donald Trump set his sights on DEI standards at the Federal Aviation Administration on Wednesday after a deadly in-air collision at the nation’s capital.

    Trump, speaking to reporters in the White House briefing room, highlighted efforts by the Biden administration to lower aviation standards, though he acknowledged that the cause of Wednesday night’s crash has yet to be determined.

    “We must have only the highest standards for those who work in our aviation system,” Trump said. “Only the highest aptitude – you have to be the highest intellect – and psychologically superior people, were allowed to qualify for air traffic controllers.”

    “We have to have our smartest people. It doesn’t matter what they look like, how they speak, who they are. What matters is intellect, talent. The word talent. They have to be talented geniuses,” he continued. “We can’t have regular people doing that job. They won’t be able to do it.”

    AMERICAN AIRLINES PLANE, ARMY HELICOPTER COLLIDE OUTSIDE REAGAN NATIONAL AIRPORT NEAR WASHINGTON DC

    President Donald Trump says he signed an executive order last week raising the qualification standards for air traffic controllers. (Jim Watson/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

    Trump noted that he had raised the qualification standards for air traffic controllers during his first administration, but he said President Joe Biden had lowered them once he left office.

    AMERICAN AIRLINES CEO EXPRESSES ‘DEEP SORROW’ AFTER MIDAIR COLLISION

    The president reinstated the higher standards last week with an executive order, he said.

    “We do not know what led to this crash, but we have some very strong opinions and ideas, and I think we’ll probably state those opinions now, because over the years I’ve watched as things like this happen and they say, well, we’re always investigating. And then the investigation, three years later, they announce it,” Trump said, going on to detail an investigation including the FAA, Department of Defense and the National Transportation Safety Board.

    Flight resume after the tragic plane crash in DC last night

    Southwest aircraft takes off from Reagan National Airport as flights resume on Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025. Flights were held following the fatal crash of an American Airlines flight and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter last night. (Leigh Green for Fox News Digital)

    Trump went on to highlight a series of articles covering the FAA’s “diversity push” that he said occurred prior to him taking office.

    “The FAA is actively recruiting workers who suffer severe intellectual disabilities, psychiatric problems, and other mental and physical conditions under a diversity and inclusion hiring initiative spelled out on the agency’s website,” he said.

    While that language was present on the FAA’s website during the Biden administration, it was also present during Trump’s first administration.

    AMERICAN FIGURE SKATING MEMBERS, RUSSIAN OLYMPIANS ABOARD PLANE IN REAGAN NATIONAL AIRPORT CRASH

    When asked for comment on the initiative last year, including what roles people with disabilities would fulfill, the FAA told Fox News Digital that the agency thoroughly seeks and vets qualified candidates “from as many sources as possible” for a range of positions.

    Jan. 29 D.C. plane-helicopter collision map.

    Jan. 29 D.C. plane-helicopter collision map.

    Later in the press conference, Trump criticized former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg as a “disaster.

    “He’s just got a good line of bulls–t,” he said of the Democrat.

    Reporters then pressed Trump on the facts of the crash, asking whether he had evidence that it was caused by incompetence due to DEI. Trump said the investigation is ongoing, but that “it could have been.”

    Buttigieg was quick to strike back on X, calling Trump’s comments “despicable.” 

    “As families grieve, Trump should be leading, not lying,” Buttigieg continued. “We put safety first, drove down close calls, grew Air Traffic Control, and had zero commercial airline crash fatalities out of millions of flights on our watch.”

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    Wednesday night’s crash involved and American Airlines jet carrying 60 passengers and four crew members. It collided with a military Blackhawk helicopter carrying three service members. Trump confirmed that there were no survivors.

    Fox News’ Emma Colton contributed to this report.

  • Newsom uses LA fires to criticize President Trump’s reversal of Biden-era climate emissions standards

    Newsom uses LA fires to criticize President Trump’s reversal of Biden-era climate emissions standards

    In an apparent swipe at President Donald Trump, Gov. Gavin Newsom suggested the Los Angeles fires were the result of climate change, urging skeptics that, “If you don’t believe in science, believe your own damn eyes.”

    He wrote those words in a press release issued on Tuesday in response to Trump’s executive orders around the environment and paired them alongside horrifying images of the fires raging in California, which have so far killed 27 people and destroyed tens of thousands of homes and structures. 

    Trump, who was sworn in as the 47th president of the United States on Monday, signed several executive orders to reverse parts of former President Joe Biden’s climate agenda, including withdrawing from the Paris Climate Agreement – a legally binding treaty between nearly 195 parties who are committed to international cooperation on climate change.

    In response to Trump distancing from the climate pact, which sought to reduce emissions 61-66% by 2035, the California governor suggested that withdrawing from the global emissions agreement contributes to environmental incidents such as the West Coast fires.

    TRUMP ELIMINATING LNG PAUSE TO HAVE ‘QUICKEST EFFECT’ ON ENERGY INDUSTRY: RICK PERRY

    California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass tour the downtown business district of Pacific Palisades as the Palisades Fire continues to burn on Jan. 8, 2025 in Los Angeles. (Eric Thayer)

    Several other Democratic lawmakers across the country have also tried to pin the disastrous fires on climate change, despite residents fuming at local officials after some fire hydrants were not producing water in areas impacted by the fires. 

    “The scale of damage and loss is unimaginable. Climate change is real, not ‘a hoax.’ Donald Trump must treat this like the existential crisis it is,” Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said in a social media post in January.

    PRESIDENT TRUMP FOLLOWS THROUGH ON DAY ONE WITH TRADE, ENERGY, DOGE EXECUTIVE ORDERS

    The claims come as California officials continue to receive backlash for funding diversity, equity, and inclusion in the city, while the fire department budget was slashed by $17.6 million this year.

    Donald Trump in the oval office holds a note from Joe Biden

    President Donald Trump found a letter from former President Joe Biden while signing executive orders in the Oval Office on Jan. 20, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Anna Moneymaker)

    “When you just look at water not coming out of fire hydrants and then nobody seems to know why. And then the governor says, ‘Well, I’m going to investigate it,’ it’s just kind of a sideshow in a time when we need real definitive, strong leadership,” Assembly Minority Leader James Gallagher told Fox News Digital of Newsom.

    Actor Michael Rapaport also blasted Newsom for talking about “Trump-proofing” California ahead of his inauguration instead of focusing on “fire-proofing” the state. 

    “If you are going to run a city or run a state, you have to take care of the basics, and that’s to make sure that your fire and your police department are well-funded,” filmmaker and former “Family Ties” star Justine Bateman told Fox News’ Jessie Watters.

    California Wildfires

    Fire crews monitor the Palisades Fire in Mandeville Canyon on Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025 in Los Angeles. (Jae C. Hong)

    Newsom extended an invitation to Trump to visit the areas in California that were impacted by the fires. 

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    Trump told attendees at a pre-inauguration rally that he plans to visit southern California later this week, marking his first trip to the state since being sworn-in as president. 

    Fox News’ Stepheny Price contributed to this report.