It is beginning to dawn on some Democrats that many Americans are not particularly interested in their sprawling climate agenda, according to Politico.
As the Trump administration rolls back key Democrat climate policies, officials who worked under former Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden are admitting that the party’s push for an exorbitantly expensive green agenda has not won over the American people, according to Politico. The Democrats spent over $1 trillion on climate initiatives in the Biden years, though several polls over the course of his presidency indicated that voters did not consider climate change to be a top priority ahead of the 2024 election.
“We’ve lost the culture war on climate, and we have to figure out a way for it to not be a niche leftist movement,” Jody Freeman, who was the counselor for energy and climate change during the Obama years, told Politico. “There’s no way around it: The left strategy on climate needs to be rethought.”
“I thought that it was going to be a more linear path forward … That linear path forward has not materialized. And that is disappointing,” Ricky Revesz, Biden’s regulatory czar, told Politico. “I continue to be surprised by the level of opposition to commonsense pollution standards. Efforts to reduce carbon pollution are driven by a desire to protect public health and avoid climate impacts that could have strongly negative impacts on our economy and the natural environment,” Revesz told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Biden pushed numerous stringent rules and pricey initiatives to advance his climate agenda throughout his term in office, with his flagship Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) marking the single largest piece of climate legislation in U.S. history. Among other things, the IRA routed billions to groups laden with Democratic Party insiders, backed struggling green energy industries like offshore wind and ran up a huge price tag for taxpayers.
Notably, Biden was repeatedly and successfully pressured by environmental activists to push the green agenda forward. For example, several influential green groups campaigned to derail oil and gas projects in Alaska and to clamp down on liquified natural gas (LNG) exports, and Biden ultimately gave in on both policy decisions.
On the 2024 campaign trail, President Donald Trump ran against the Democrats’ climate agenda, which he has termed the “Green New Scam,” and his administration has started to roll back numerous Biden climate initiatives and regulations. Trump has moved to end Biden’s war on the coal industry, strict emissions rules and appliance rules, among others, while focusing on boosting domestic energy production in light of an inherited grid crisis and high electricity costs.
“Politico is finally calling it! The era of climate bullcrap is entering the dustbin of history. Our long national nightmare has ended,” Marc Morano, author and the head of Climate Depot told the DCNF. “No longer do U.S. citizens have to listen to politicians talk about banning cars, meat restrictions, [or] bans on home appliances … The most significant achievement of the Trump administration is how both the President and EPA chief Zeldin have reframed the entire man-made climate narrative and correctly labeled it what it is: A ‘scam’, a ‘cult’, a ‘religion’, and a fraud.”
31 historic actions recently announced @EPA will END the Green New Scam while cutting trillions in regulatory costs for everyday Americans.
We will protect our environment AND grow our economy! pic.twitter.com/BTgEEfz5qV
— Lee Zeldin (@epaleezeldin) March 25, 2025
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator Lee Zeldin has referred to Biden’s approach to environmental policy as “narrow-minded climate change zealotry” and has made major deregulatory moves to allow domestic energy production to thrive.
“The American public spoke loudly and clearly last November: They wanted to make sure that all agencies were cognizant of their economic concerns,” Zeldin said when announcing proposals to axe stringent Biden and Obama-era emissions rules for power plants on Wednesday. “At the EPA under President Trump, we have chosen to both protect the environment and grow the economy.”
Energy policy experts have been saying for years that the radical climate agenda is disconnected from the priorities of most American people.
The Democrats’ climate agenda has “always been a niche leftist movement … and it is definitely melting,” senior legal fellow at the Energy and Environment Legal Institute Steve Milloy told the DCNF. “We’re at a remarkable point in the evolution of climate and it’s definitely trending downward right now. But nothing’s over.”
“They may have to lay low for a while, but they’ll be back. This is one of their best scams,” Milloy said.
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