President Trump promised to end the “war on coal” during a visit on Tuesday to the Environmental Protection Agency’s headquarters, where he signed an executive order to undo the Obama-era Clean Power Plan rule.
“My administration is putting an end to the war on coal,” Trump told a mix of EPA employees, members of his Cabinet and White House staff.
“We’re going to have clean coal, really clean coal,” he declared. “We’re going to have safety. We’re going to have clean water and clean air.”
Trump blasted the Clean Power Plan rule, which set a national limit on greenhouse gas emissions from coal power plants and was put on hold from implementation by the Supreme Court last February.
“Perhaps no single regulation threatens our miners more than this crushing attack on American industry,” he said, while quipping that the applause from EPA staffers meant “they like what we’re about to sign.”
The president recalled a moment during his campaign when he met with West Virginia coal miners and offered to get them all new jobs.
“I said, ‘How about this? How about we get together and we’ll get you another job?'” he explained, telling his audience that the miners rejected the offer because they enjoyed mining.
“I said if that’s what you want to do, that’s what you’re going to do,” he said.
Trump was joined by EPA administrator Scott Pruitt, Energy Secretary Rick Perry, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, Vice President Mike Pence and several senior aides for his first visit to the agency.
