US President-elect Donald Trump has criticized the Biden administration's efforts to regulate gas-powered appliances and has vowed to reverse those policies when he takes office.
President-elect Donald Trump President Biden railed against environmental regulations as he left office, pledging on Tuesday to roll back those policies when he takes office later this month.
At a press conference at Mar-a-Lago, Trump mocked Biden's promise of a smooth transition as “just talk,” pointing to a series of last-minute executive orders Biden announced before leaving the White House. On Monday, Biden issued a permanent ban on new oil and gas drilling across U.S. coastal and offshore waters spanning nearly 625 million acres. The Biden administration also announced new standards for gas water heaters that Trump criticized as “worse” than the oil drilling ban.
“Another thing he did yesterday, which was bad in so many ways – it's hard to believe it could get any worse – he wants all the gas heaters out of your house and apartment. He wants them basically replaced with electric heaters. I don't want that. I don't know what happens with electric, this guy likes electric,” Trump said.
“We're going to end the electric car mandate,” he added, as he went from criticizing Biden's support for green energy to extolling the virtues of gas heaters and showers without water flow restrictions.
California begins war on gas stoves with new proposed law
President-elect Donald Trump makes remarks at Mar-a-Lago on January 7, 2025 in Palm Beach, Florida. (Reuters/Carlos Barria/Reuters Photo)
Trump's comments came after a report that he was weighing an executive order that would protect gas-fired appliances, including stoves and heaters, from federal and local regulators who want to phase out fossil fuels.
Democratic efforts to limit gas-powered appliances have come under fire from Republicans in recent years.
The Biden administration sparked controversy in 2023 after US Consumer Product Safety Commissioner Richard Trumka Jr. suggested the government could ban gas stoves, which are claimed to emit pollutants. Which causes breathing problems and health problems.
Two sources familiar with Trump's thinking told Reuters that Trump's potential executive order would reflect efforts by Congress to limit federal funding for state and local enterprises that restrict gas-powered appliances or impose regulations that would increase their costs.
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A flame burns in a gas stove on April 28, 2023 in New York City. Governor Cathy Hochul announced that starting in 2026, new buildings in New York will be required to be zero-emissions as part of this year's budget and most new builds will be banned from burning fossil fuels. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images) / Getty Images)
D The Trump Transition Team Fox Business did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Gas-fired stoves, favored by cooks who prefer fast, high heat, have been targeted by progressives who want to curb climate change by limiting options for consumers, and have been defended by Republicans like Trump and business groups who want free market decisions. .
“It's a lot when our own government needs an order from the White House to ban natural gas furnaces and water heaters,” Karen Herbert, president of the American Gas Association, an industry trade group, said in a statement to Reuters. Volumes speak for themselves.” . “Despite illegal efforts to ban access to and use of natural gas, our industry is working hard to keep the energy we need affordable and reliable, especially during the extreme cold weather we're experiencing right now.”
Dozens of Democrat-controlled cities, including San Francisco and Berkeley in California, have tried to restrict new buildings from using gas stoves as a way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve indoor air quality. New York state approved a law last month to ban natural gas stoves and furnaces in most new buildings.
Consumer watchdog 'not coming for anyone's gas stove'
President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden step off Air Force One after arriving in New Orleans on January 6, 2025. (TPX Image of the Day by Reuters/Kevin Lamarck)
According to S&P Global, those efforts have been targeted by GOP-led legal challenges and laws passed in red states that prohibit local governments from restricting gas in buildings.
According to the US Energy Information Administration in 2020, more than 75 million US households use natural gas for at least one appliance, mostly for home or water heat.
According to the survey, nearly two out of every five American homes have a gas stove.
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Trump has criticized electric and water-saving devices as inefficient and ineffective, describing opposition to Democratic climate policy as “common sense.”
“We're the party of common sense, and what I'm telling you now is really common sense,” Trump said.
Aubrey Spady of Fox News Digital and Reuters contributed to this report.