Politics
Editorial: How California leaders can protect the environment from another Trump administration
Of the many ways Donald Trump’s return to the White House promises to upend federal policy, few are more predictable or damaging than the U-turn he and his allies threaten to take on climate change and environmental protection. Fortunately, California has considerable power to counter the onslaught.
Trump’s first administration rolled back more than 100 regulations on clean air and water, toxic chemicals and wildlife conservation. He called global warming a hoax, pulled out of the Paris climate agreement, shrank national monuments and appointed Environmental Protection Agency administrators who helped polluters at the expense of public health.
Many experts believe Trump’s election is a last “nail in the coffin” for efforts to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. He did, after all, urge oil executives to underwrite his latest campaign in exchange for undoing environmental rules.
Given Republican majorities in the House as well as the Senate and the conservative Supreme Court’s hostility to environmental regulation, Trump’s anti-environmental excesses will have to be checked at the state and local levels.
To that end, as part of his plan to wage a second high-profile campaign against Trump’s policies, Gov. Gavin Newsom has called a special session of the Legislature to ready California’s legal defense. Newsom, state Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta and other leaders in California and like-minded states can form an important bulwark against attacks on environmental protections, much as they did eight years ago. Former state Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra filed more than 100 lawsuits against the first Trump administration, many concerning environmental matters, and won far more than he lost.
But California officials can’t just play defense. They should use the state’s power and influence to mount a pro-environment offense, counteracting as much of the impending damage as possible.
With Trump’s team expected to kill President Biden’s electric vehicle tax credit, among other reversals, California can cement its reputation for consistently committing to its climate policies. A federal retreat from those policies will make the United States less competitive by ceding leadership on clean energy technology to China, Europe and other rivals. The strength and stability of the world’s fifth-largest economy, meanwhile, makes it an attractive innovation and investment partner while the federal government seesaws chaotically. That worked in California’s favor in 2019, when Ford, Honda and other automakers sidestepped the Trump administration’s efforts to weaken emissions standards and made a deal with California, citing the need for “regulatory certainty.”
“It wasn’t that they hated Trump,” said Mary Nichols, who chaired the California Air Resources Board at the time. “They wanted relief, but they wanted to have the discussion with people driven by science and data, not ideology.”
Also bolstering California’s position is a climate and energy landscape that has shifted dramatically in eight years, putting Trump’s agenda at odds with economic realities.
Electric vehicles are surging globally. One in five new cars sold are now battery-powered, with 1.7 million electric vehicles expected to be sold in the U.S. this year, more than eight times more than at the start of Trump’s first term. More than 40% of the nation’s electricity now comes from carbon-free sources, twice as much as in 2016.
The Inflation Reduction Act, the landmark climate law Biden signed, has unleashed a boom in electric vehicle and battery manufacturing and other clean energy technology that has disproportionately benefited red states and districts. While Trump has pledged to “rescind all unspent funds” under the law, 18 House Republicans have urged Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) not to repeal its clean energy tax credits, noting that they have “spurred innovation, incentivized investment, and created good jobs in many parts of the country — including many districts represented by” Republicans.
Trump may face pressure not to renege on commitments to cut greenhouse gas pollution from other unexpected places. The head of Exxon Mobil cautioned him against withdrawing from the Paris agreement on the grounds that the world needs a system to manage emissions.
Then there are obstacles of the self-imposed variety, including Trump’s choice to head the EPA: former Rep. Lee Zeldin of New York, whose main qualification seems to be loyalty. Zeldin’s lack of environmental experience could impede efforts to dismantle regulations, which takes loads of expertise, legal rigor and time.
Trump’s plan to purge the federal ranks of career civil servants and replace them with loyalists could further undercut his ability to roll back regulations, said Ann Carlson, a UCLA environmental law professor and former acting administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. “The reality is you can’t get anything done without good civil servants,” she said.
Still, Trump can do real damage by going after the states trying to deal with climate change. Expect new efforts to revoke California’s waivers to set tougher vehicle emissions standards, several of which have yet to be approved by Biden’s EPA. The state’s ability to respond to climate-fueled disasters is also in jeopardy: Trump has repeatedly threatened to withhold federal aid to fight California wildfires, and the Project 2025 playbook for his second term calls for dismantling the National Weather Service.
For its own safety, California will need creative new policies that can stand on their own. That means tough measures from state regulators such as the state Public Utilities Commission and Air Resources Board and local authorities such as the South Coast Air Quality Management District, which has dragged its feet for years in advancing stricter rules for some of Southern California’s biggest polluters, the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.
Local leaders such as Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass will need to do more. So far, she has failed to use her control of the Port of L.A. to take meaningful steps to clean up dirty diesel emissions.
We are facing the threat of years of lost ground on climate at a moment when we can ill afford it. It’s time for state and local leaders to get to work and show that in spite of a second Trump administration, environmentally responsible policy is still possible if they fight for it.
U.S. military forces stopped and boarded a second sanctioned tanker carrying oil from Iran in the Indian Ocean, the Pentagon said on Thursday, ramping up pressure on Tehran as the Trump administration seeks to resume negotiations to end the war.
A naval boarding team roped down from hovering helicopters and fanned out on the vessel, the M/T Majestic X, according to a Pentagon statement that included a 17-second video of the operation.
The military said the boarding was part of a “global maritime enforcement to disrupt illicit networks and interdict vessels providing material support to Iran, wherever they operate.”
Earlier this week, Navy SEALS boarded another ship in the Indian Ocean, the M/T Tifani, after the Pentagon said it was carrying oil from Iran.
Navy destroyers are also shadowing several other Iranian vessels, including the Dorena and Sevin, which had left from the Iranian port of Chabahar before the U.S.-imposed blockade began on April 13, a U.S. military official said. The Navy is directing those ships to return to an Iranian port, the official said.
With the M/T Tifani and M/T Majestic X now at least temporarily in the custody of the military, a U.S. military official said it was up to the White House to decide what to do with the sanctioned vessels and their cargo. The administration previously seized several tankers carrying illicit oil from Venezuela after a U.S. commando raid there in January that seized Nicolás Maduro, the country’s president.
“International waters cannot be used as a shield by sanctioned actors,” the Pentagon said in its statement on Thursday, adding that the department would “continue to deny illicit actors and their vessels freedom of maneuver in the maritime domain.”
Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, hinted last week that the U.S. military would likely commence boarding operations like the ones this week. He said that U.S. military commanders elsewhere in the world, and especially in the Indo-Pacific region, would “actively pursue any Iranian-flagged vessel or any vessel attempting to provide material support to Iran.”
The U.S. Navy has turned back at least 31 ships trying to enter or exit Iranian ports since an American blockade outside the contested Strait of Hormuz began about a week ago, U.S. Central Command said late Wednesday.
Last Sunday, a Navy destroyer disabled and seized the Touska, an Iranian cargo ship, after it tried to evade the blockade. It was the first time a vessel was reported to have tried to evade the U.S.-imposed blockade on any ship entering or exiting Iranian ports since it took effect last week.
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White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt explained why President Donald Trump does not consider Iran’s seizure of two ships in the Strait of Hormuz a violation of the ceasefire agreement.
Leavitt made the statement during an interview with Fox News’ Martha McCallum on Wednesday just hours after Iran captured the Greek and Mediterranean-flagged vessels.
“Does the seizure of two ships — as we said, they were Greek and Mediterranean-owned ships with cargo on them, and the reports are that Iran basically seized them and then moved them into Iranian waters. We don’t know what’s going to happen to these crews. We’re not sure where all of this is going. Does the president view that as a violation of the ceasefire?” McCallum asked.
“No, because these were not U.S. ships. These were not Israeli ships. These were two international vessels,” Leavitt responded.
US FORCES ATTEMPTING TO BOARD SANCTIONED RUSSIAN-FLAGGED OIL TANKER IN NORTH ATLANTIC, SOURCES SAY
Karoline Leavitt, White House press secretary, conducts a press briefing. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
“And for the American media, who are sort of blowing this out of proportion to discredit the president’s facts that he has completely obliterated Iran’s conventional Navy, these two ships were taken by speedy gunboats. Iran has gone from having the most lethal Navy in the Middle East to now acting like a bunch of pirates. They don’t have control over the strait,” she continued.
“This is piracy that we are seeing on display. And the naval blockade that the United States has imposed continues to be incredibly effective. And, to be clear, the blockade is on ships going to and from Iranian ports. And the point of this is the economic leverage that we maintain over Iran now. While there’s a ceasefire with respect to the military and kinetic strikes, Operation Economic Fury continues, and the crux of that is this naval blockade,” she added.
The Iranian made ‘Seraj’ a high-speed missile-launching assault boat on display in Tehran on August 23, 2010, as Iran kicked off mass production of two high-speed missile-launching assault boats the ‘Seraj’ (Lamp) and ‘Zolfaqar’ (named after Shiite Imam Ali’s sword) speedboats which will be manufactured at the marine industries complex of the ministry of defense. (YALDA MOAIERY/AFP via Getty Images)
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps said the vessels, identified as the MSC Francesca and the Epaminondas, were operating without proper authorization and had tampered with navigation systems, accusations that could not be independently verified. The ships had earlier reported coming under fire near the strait, underscoring the increasingly volatile conditions in one of the world’s most critical shipping lanes.
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The Guard attacked a third ship, identified as the Euphoria, which had become “stranded” on the Iranian coast, Iranian media reported. It did not seize that vessel.
Ships and tankers in the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Musandam, Oman, April 18, 2026. (Reuters)
Both the U.S. and Iranian sides have targeted commercial and cargo vessels as part of a broader pressure campaign tied to stalled negotiations. U.S. forces have also moved to seize at least one Iranian-linked vessel in the region, with each side accusing the other of violating the terms of a fragile ceasefire.
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The Strait of Hormuz is a vital artery for global oil shipments, with roughly 20% of the world’s supply passing through it. Traffic has slowed dramatically as ships reroute or avoid the area amid gunfire, seizures and conflicting directives from both militaries.
Fox News’ Morgan Phillips contributed to this report.
WASHINGTON — Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger met privately with President Trump and administration officials Wednesday to press for federal support and yet-unpaid wildfire recovery funding as the region continues to rebuild from the 2025 fires.
“This afternoon we met with President Trump and Administration officials to advocate for families who lost everything,” Bass and Barger said in a statement. “We had a very positive discussion about FEMA and other rebuilding funds as well as the support of the President to continue joining us in pressuring the insurance companies to pay what they owe — and for the big banks to step up to ease the financial pressure on L.A. families.”
Barger said the two leaders had a “high-level discussion” with the president in the Oval Office, sharing stories about what fire survivors are experiencing day to day. She added that “we left details behind with the President,” but did not specify whether Trump made any funding or policy promises during the meeting.
“First and foremost, today’s meeting was to thank the President for his initial support of infusing federal resources to expedite debris removal, as well as his recent tweet about insurance companies, which have already proven fruitful,” she said in a statement provided to The Times.
Bass was similarly reserved about the discussions, telling reporters that “we will follow up with the details,” but signaled progress is being made on federal support.
“I think what’s important is that we certainly got the president’s support in terms of, you know, what is needed, and then the appropriate people were in the room for us to follow up. And that was Russ Vought, who is the head of the Office of Management and budget,” Bass told KNX on Wednesday.
The meeting comes on the heels of a yearlong standoff between California leaders and the Trump administration over wildfire recovery funding, disaster response and whether the federal government should have a say in local rebuilding permitting.
California leaders, led by Gov. Gavin Newsom, have accused the Trump administration of withholding billions in critical wildfire aid, prompting a lawsuit over stalled recovery funds. Officials allege political bias in the delay of billions of dollars from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Newsom visited Washington in December. When he made his rounds on Capitol Hill, he met with five lawmakers, including three who serve on the Senate and House appropriations committees, to renew calls for $33.9 billion in federal aid for Los Angeles County fire recovery.
But the governor said he was denied a meeting with FEMA and would not say whether he had attempted to meet with Trump to discuss the issue.
Bass, meanwhile, appears to have found a path to the president on a subject that has been paramount for her community.
The fruitful meeting comes after Trump lobbed insults at the mayor at a news conference earlier this year, where he called her “incompetent” for how she handled last year’s wildfire recovery efforts. He alleged that under Bass’ leadership, the city’s delay in issuing local building permits will take years when it should have taken “two or three days.”
California officials, including Newsom, have urged the Trump administration to send Congress a formal request for the $33.9 billion in recovery aid needed to rebuild homes, schools, utilities and other critical infrastructure destroyed or damaged when the fires tore through neighborhoods more than 15 months ago.
What Bass and Barger’s meeting with the president ultimately produces remains to be seen.
The billions in recovery aid have not yet materialized, but the meeting could potentially give those discussions new momentum.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment about the meeting.
Earlier this month, Trump criticized insurance provider State Farm on Truth Social for its handling of the devastating Los Angeles County wildfires. He accused the insurance giant of abandoning its policyholders when tragedy struck.
“It was brought to my attention that the Insurance Companies, in particular, State Farm, have been absolutely horrible to people that have been paying them large Premiums for years, only to find that when tragedy struck, these horrendous Companies were not there to help!” Trump wrote.
But the rebuke didn’t come out of the blue. It stemmed from a controversial February visit to Los Angeles by Trump administration officials.
Trump tapped Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin in an effort to strip California state and local governments of their authority to permit the rebuilding of homes destroyed in the Eaton and Palisades fires.
Within the week, Zeldin was in Los Angeles, bashing Newsom and Los Angeles officials at a roundtable with fire victims and reporters, saying that residents were suffering from “bureaucratic, red tape delays and incompetency” and that leadership was “denying them … the ability to rebuild their lives”.
During the trip, officials heard direct complaints from local leaders and fire victims about insurers being slow, restrictive and insufficient with their claim payouts.
After these meetings, Trump directed Zeldin to investigate the insurers’ responses. State Farm, facing roughly $7 billion in fire-related claims, is also under formal investigation by California’s insurance commissioner over its handling of the crisis.
Despite tensions with the administration, Bass and Barger appeared confident that progress was being made on the insurance and funding issues.
“Our job is to fight for our communities,” their joint statement concluded. “When it comes to this recovery, our federal partners are essential, and we are grateful for the support of the President.”
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