When you don’t have the facts, argue the law: How Trump’s EPA is limiting its own ability to protect public health far into the future

The Trump administration is trying to tie the hands of future administrations when it comes to regulating pollution, including greenhouse gas emissions. Chris Sattlberger/Tetra Images via Getty Images

As the Trump administration moves to weaken America’s air pollution rules, it is deploying new legal interpretations that are intended to tie the hands of future administrations for years to come.

In practice, the changes limit the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority under the Clean Air Act. The result allows EPA officials to ignore science, data and the adverse effects their decisions will have on public health and the environment.