Trump announces end of Biden-era methane rules at Texas rally for Ken Paxton

Trump announces the rollback

Trump told a campaign rally in Lubbock, Texas, on Tuesday evening, 27 October 2026, that his administration was terminating Biden-era rules that hold oil and gas companies accountable for large methane leaks. He said the change would save consumers and energy producers $45 billion and unlock 210 million barrels of oil, which the Guardian equates to about 10 days of US petroleum consumption. The rally backed Ken Paxton, the Republican attorney general running a tight Senate race against Democratic state representative James Talarico. POLITICO, however, described the step as a new draft EPA rule that would lessen requirements to limit leaks, so the legal form of the move is not fully clear from the sources. Trump put the decision in blunt terms during the speech.

“Tonight, I'm officially terminating Biden's expensive and unnecessary methane regulations.”

What the rule covers

The 2024 rule was the first time the federal government set nationwide limits on methane from existing oil and gas facilities, requiring operators to eliminate and minimize leaks, flaring and venting of methane and volatile organic compounds. An earlier rule finalized in 2016 under the Obama administration covered new and modified sources. Under the super emitter program, operators had to investigate large leaks near their facilities when third parties detected them with EPA-approved remote sensing technology. Lee Zeldin, the EPA administrator, announced in March 2025 that the agency was reconsidering the Biden-Harris regulations. La Libre reports that the new measures would scrap a program letting EPA-accredited observers flag large leaks and would ease rules for wells producing less than 15 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

Criticism and emissions

Fieldnotes, an oil and gas watchdog, obtained trade association materials and records under the Freedom of Information Act showing that industry groups and corporations worked behind the scenes to weaken the methane rules, even though some executives publicly backed the rule. Julia Kane, a Fieldnotes researcher, said the Trump EPA was giving oil and gas companies exactly what they have long wanted. She added a sharper charge against the industry.

“The oil and gas industry says it's a 'good-faith' partner eager to help craft regulations, but time and time again it's worked behind the scenes to delay and weaken them.”

The Guardian reports that the US emitted more methane from its oil and gas sector in 2025 than any other country, and that methane accounts for at least a quarter of current warming. La Libre cites the International Energy Agency in placing the US as the largest methane emitter in the oil and gas sector, ahead of Russia.

Political stakes

Trump has faced criticism over high fuel prices stemming from the US war in Iran, and Bloomberg reported that he cast high gas prices as short-term pain at the Texas rally. Bloomberg also described the Paxton race as close in a state that is normally reliable for conservatives, with Republicans worried about losing control of the chamber. POLITICO noted that Paxton had led the legal challenge to the rule and was the first to sue over it in 2024.