On Friday, Oct. 23, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said the rollbacks it finished in the budget year that ended Sept. 30 produced an estimated $1.6 trillion in savings 1. The agency says that is more than past administrations saved across all agencies over entire terms 1.
Nearly all of the total comes from two actions. Repealing the 2009 "endangerment finding" in February is credited with more than $1.3 trillion. Repealing most greenhouse gas rules for power plants in September is credited with about $310 billion 1.
The announcement is the last in a series of EPA webpages promoting the agency's record 2. It came out 11 days before the Nov. 3 midterm election. That matters because the largest number in it was already taken apart by independent fact-checkers earlier this year 3.
The Trump EPA is proving you can lower costs, restore consumer choice, and protect the environment at the same time.
What the $1.3 trillion leaves out
On Feb. 12, the EPA revoked the endangerment finding. That was the agency's 2009 conclusion that greenhouse gases endanger public health and welfare. The same action ended EPA greenhouse gas limits for cars and trucks, rules that mainly pushed new vehicles to use less fuel 3.
FactCheck.org, a nonpartisan project, found that the $1.3 trillion is not a net figure. It adds up about $1.1 trillion that automakers would no longer spend on vehicle technology and about $200 billion in avoided spending on electric-vehicle chargers and equipment, all between 2027 and 2055 3. It does not subtract the higher fuel and maintenance bills drivers would face without the rules 3.
Take the EPA's own central scenario, the one built on the federal Energy Information Administration's best guess for fuel prices. There the repeal costs Americans about $180 billion more than it saves: roughly $1.3 trillion in savings against about $1.5 trillion in costs 3. FactCheck.org found that none of the EPA's scenarios show a net savings of $1.3 trillion 3.
Outside economists went further. In a study published Aug. 27 in the journal Science, they concluded the EPA overstated savings by about $540 billion and understated costs by $920 billion. By their math, the repeal has a net cost of $670 billion 3.
The EPA also says the repeal saves about $2,400 per new vehicle 1. FactCheck.org said that number appears to be the avoided technology costs divided by the number of new vehicles sold. It is not a net number and does not mean car prices will drop 3. The fact-checkers also cited an Environmental Defense Fund estimate of up to 58,000 more early deaths and 37 million more asthma attacks through 2055 because of the repeal 3.
EPA’s move to revoke the endangerment finding has absolutely no basis in law, science, or reality.
Power plants and the air you breathe
The second piece of the total is the Sept. 14 repeal of most greenhouse gas limits on coal and natural gas power plants. The 2024 rules it threw out required existing coal plants and new gas plants to cut carbon pollution 90%, using tools like carbon capture 5. Power plants produce 24% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, second only to transportation 5.
The EPA put the industry savings at $310 billion 5. But when the 2024 rule was written, the agency estimated that in 2035 alone it would prevent 1,200 early deaths, 360,000 cases of asthma symptoms and 47,000 lost workdays 4. The EPA's Oct. 23 release does not mention health benefits 1.
Rolling back carbon pollution limits from power plants is a step in the wrong direction.
The Natural Resources Defense Council and the Sierra Club plan to sue over the power plant repeal. "We will be seeing them in court," said Meredith Hankins of the Natural Resources Defense Council 5.
Who pays
The pattern is consistent. The EPA counts what companies no longer have to spend as savings, and it leaves out what families may pay at the gas pump, at the doctor's office and on their utility bills. An earlier page in the same series even counts $30 billion in canceled grants as savings 2.
Each side makes its own case on prices. When he announced the power plant repeal, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said, "The Trump administration has come in to protect American energy and to make sure you can afford to keep the lights on" 4. Rep. Frank Pallone of New Jersey, the top Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said the endangerment repeal "will result in higher food and electricity prices" 6.
For now, the courts will decide whether the rollbacks stand 5. Voters get a say sooner: on Nov. 3 they will choose the Congress that oversees the EPA.
The Record
- The EPA revokes the 2009 endangerment finding and ends greenhouse gas limits for cars and trucks 3.
- Economists writing in Science conclude the vehicle rule repeal has a net cost of $670 billion, not a net savings 3.
- The EPA repeals most greenhouse gas limits on coal and gas power plants and estimates $310 billion in savings 5.
- The EPA claims more than $1.6 trillion in deregulatory savings for the budget year that ended Sept. 30 1.
Sources
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, “EPA Details Record $1.6 Trillion in Savings Finalized in Past Year Through Historic Deregulatory Agenda” (2026-10-23). epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-details-record-16-trillion-savings-
- Breitbart, “Exclusive: Trump EPA Amasses $1.6 Trillion in Savings Through Deregulatory Agenda” (2026-10-23). breitbart.com/politics/2026/10/23/exclusive-trump-epa-amasse
- FactCheck.org, “EPA's Misleading Claim of $1.3 Trillion in Deregulatory 'Savings'” (2026-09-03). factcheck.org/2026/03/epas-misleading-claim-of-1-3-trillion-
- NBC News, “EPA to repeal limits on greenhouse gas pollution from power plants” (2026-09-14). nbcnews.com/science/climate-change/epa-repeals-limits-emissi
- ABC News, “What to know as EPA announces repeal of power plant emissions limits” (2026-09-14). abcnews.com/US/epa-announces-repeal-power-plant-emissions-li
- House Energy and Commerce Committee Democrats, “Pallone Blasts Trump Administration for Repealing Endangerment Finding” (2026-02-12). democrats-energycommerce.house.gov/media/press-releases/pall
Found an error? Tell the newsroom. Corrections are noted at the top of the story.
