Feb. 12, 2026, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government Executive Director Robert Romano today issued the following statement praising President Donald Trump and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin for ending the 2009 carbon endangerment finding:
“The carbon endangerment finding error committed by the Obama EPA finally ending is long overdue after being all but overturned in the Supreme Court’s 2022 West Virginia v. EPA decision that struck down the 2015 Obama Clean Power Plan. That ruling overturned the Court’s 2007 decision, Massachusetts v. EPA, a narrow 5-4 ruling by then-Justice Anthony Kennedy that had opened the door for federal regulation of carbon emissions and set the stage for the carbon endangerment finding and the Clean Power Plan’s rules on new and existing power plants.
“Finally, after a twenty-year decline in thermal energy production — an unforced error — we’re finally seeing gains again on the grid for coal, even as alternative energy like solar especially continues to proliferate. The only impact that the endangerment finding had was to make certain kinds of electricity a lot more expensive at the worst possible time when with the proliferation of artificial intelligence and data centers, we need more electricity output, a lot more. The demand for cheaper electricity will ultimately lead to market innovations for those alternatives including solar and nuclear too that really stand a chance of posting the biggest gains even as thermal production can pick up a lot of the slack after coal was years in decline.
“Even now, by lifting the restrictions, electricity generation is only up about 2.4 percent for 2025 through October, data from the Energy Information Administration shows. That number needs to be much, much higher and so we encourage the President and his administration to closely monitor how much generation is coming on line and to get the approvals done. Maybe something can be done in the next budget reconciliation bill to refocus U.S. reindustrialization.
“Thanks to President Trump and Administrator Zeldin’s efforts, and the market boom we are now seeing, ending the carbon endangerment finding was the only option that can help America remain competitive, keep electricity cheap for U.S. households and ensure the U.S. will always be the most technologically advanced society in history. To quote the captain, we need more power.”
For media availability contact Americans for Limited Government at media@limitgov.org.
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