President Donald Trump ordered the immediate reversal of the Biden administration's green energy regulations for household appliances Tuesday, as well as a return to the "common sense standards" on the environment enacted during his first White House term.
Under former President Joe Biden, appliances such as washing machines, dishwashers, and gas stoves had to conform to stringent climate standards, which manufacturers and experts have said could lead to more expensive, and less effective, alternatives than currently available models.
In a Truth Social post early Tuesday, Trump called on Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin to immediately cancel Biden's climate mandates and reinstate the environmental orders from his previous administration.
"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. "I look forward to signing these Orders. THANK YOU!!!"
This is not the first climate initiative of Biden's that Trump has taken aim at since returning to the Oval Office.
Trump signed an executive order Monday to reverse a Biden-era federal move away from plastic straws, saying that paper straws "don't work" and do not last long enough to be useful.
"It's a ridiculous situation," the president said. "We're going back to plastic straws."
Trump's order will launch a review of federal purchasing policies that restrict plastic straws and targets a policy from the Biden administration that sought to phase out federal purchases of single-use plastics from food service packaging, operations and events by 2027, and ultimately from all federal operations by 2035.
Environmental groups argue plastic straws pollute the world's oceans and threaten marine life, but Trump said Monday he thinks "it's OK" to keep using them.
"I don't think that plastic is going to affect the shark very much as they're ... munching their way through the ocean,'' he said.
Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.