Administration revokes bedrock scientific determination that removes government’s ability to limit pollution from cars and trucks – key US politics stories from 12 February
The Trump administration has revoked the bedrock scientific determination that gives the government the ability to regulate climate-heating pollution. The move was described as a gift to “billionaire polluters” at the expense of Americans’ health.
The endangerment finding, which states that the buildup of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere endangers public health and welfare, has since 2009 allowed the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to limit heat-trapping pollution from vehicles, power plants and other industrial sources.
Thursday’s decision removes the government’s ability to impose requirements to track, report and limit climate-heating pollution from cars and trucks. Transportation is the largest source of climate pollution in the US.
The move comes as part of Trump’s bigger anti-environment push, which has seen him roll back pollution rules and boost oil and gas.
Environmental advocates have condemned the move as illegal. A slew of green groups have promised to take the EPA to court over the rollback, as has the state of California.
“If this reckless decision survives legal challenges, it will lead to more deadly wildfires, more extreme heat deaths, more climate-driven floods and droughts, and greater threats to communities nationwide – all while the EPA dismisses the overwhelming science that has protected public health for decades,” Gavin Newsom, the California governor, said in a statement.
The rollback comes one month after the Trump administration announced it will pull the US from the foundational UN agreement to address the climate crisis, as well as the world’s leading body of climate scientists. Over the past year, the EPA administrator, Lee Zeldin, has also launched an all-out assault on climate, air, water and chemical protections. The EPA has also removed crucial climate-focused science and data from its webpages.
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Donald Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, has claimed the adminstration is drawing down its immigration crackdown in Minnesota that led to the death of two US citizens, mass detentions and widespread protests.
“I have proposed, and President Trump has concurred, that this surge operation conclude,” Homan said, claiming that “a significant drawdown” had already been under way this week and would continue.
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Thursday’s vote means that the department is almost certain to shut down at midnight on Friday evening, affecting a range of services yet largely leaving the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) – the target of Democrats’ ire – unaffected because it is already the recipient of lavish federal funding.
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A US judge on Thursday blocked the Pentagon from reducing Senator Mark Kelly’s retired military rank and pension pay because he urged troops to reject unlawful orders.
The preliminary ruling by Richard Leon, a George W Bush appointee, is the latest setback for Donald Trump in his campaign of vengeance against perceived political enemies, which has drawn opposition from judges across the ideological spectrum.
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Members of Congress are calling for investigations after discovering the Department of Justice created records of their research activities while they dig into files connected to Jeffrey Epstein.
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Jeremy Carl, Donald Trump’s pick for a top diplomatic post, has championed “white supremacist, racist, antisemitic and homophobic views”, a former US state department official has warned.
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Exclusive: Gail Slater, the head of the US justice department’s antitrust division, was forced out of the Trump administration on Thursday after a turbulent tenure and months of simmering tensions with senior cabinet officials, according to two people directly familiar with the matter.
The Pentagon’s policy chief, Elbridge Colby, has told European Nato defence ministers in Brussels that they need to step up their combat capabilities and take the lead in protecting their continent from the Russian threat.
Donald Trump has nominated the hospitality executive Scott Socha – whose company once sued to claim trademark rights to the name “Yosemite National Park” – to lead the National Park Service.
A federal immigration supervisor who allegedly lived with his undocumented girlfriend has been charged with harboring an undocumented person, Texas federal prosecutors said on Wednesday.
New Jersey’s governor, Mikie Sherrill, has banned immigration agents from some state property and launched an online portal for residents to share videos and photos of enforcement activity.
Labor unions are fundraising for workers affected by the surge of immigration enforcement across the US, providing legal and financial support to members affected by the brutal crackdown.
Catching up? Here’s what happened on 11 February 2026.