Press Release: 2/13/2026

Senator Markey Condemns Trump EPA's Final Rule to Repeal Endangerment Finding

 

Washington (February 12, 2026) - Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), a member of the Environment and Public Works Committee, today released the following statement after the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a final rule that would formally repeal the 2009 endangerment finding—the legal and regulatory foundation for climate protection in the United States—despite the scientific and legal underpinnings of the finding.

“Trump and Zeldin are rejecting the science, the law, and judicial precedent through this reckless repeal of the endangerment finding. The Environmental Protection Agency has a clear statutory requirement to protect public health from air pollutants—including from climate change caused by greenhouse gases. It’s disgraceful, dishonest, and disrespectful that Trump and Zeldin are giving polluters a free pass while making working families pick up the tab for climate disasters and health care bills. Denial will not make climate damage go away—it will only make it worse.”

In 2007, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts fought and won the landmark Supreme Court case, Massachusetts v. EPA, which established unambiguously that greenhouse gases are air pollutants under the Clean Air Act. As a result of the Clean Air Act statutory language, the Supreme Court decision, and the scientific record, the EPA issued its endangerment finding that confirmed greenhouse gases contribute to climate change and must be regulated as a result. The endangerment finding, which has been repeatedly upheld by court decisions, requires the EPA to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from cars, power plants, and other sources.

Senator Markey has been outspoken in his opposition to the Trump administration’s attacks on climate science. Yesterday, Senator Markey stood with lawmakers and climate activists outside of the EPA’s headquarters denouncing the Administration’s announcement earlier in the week that it would repeal the endangerment finding. In September, Senator Markey led every member of the Massachusetts congressional delegation in writing to EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, urging the agency to halt its attack on the endangerment finding.