President Trump just gave the steel industry a two-year timeout on strict pollution rules, exempting their coke ovens from Clean Air Act limits. (The Hill)
The rationale: The White House argues the tech needed to meet the new standards “does not yet exist” in a commercially viable form and that enforcing the rule would threaten national security by crippling domestic steel production.
The pushback: Critics call the exemption a “slap in the face” to local communities. Earthjustice notes the rule wasn't just about cutting emissions, but about installing “common-sense” fenceline monitors to alert neighbors if cancer-causing benzene levels spiked.
The broader strategy: The administration recently launched a dedicated portal for companies to request similar regulatory waivers, and industries ranging from oil refining to medical sterilization are already lining up.