On Friday, President Donald Trump signed several measures into law overturning the Biden administration’s energy efficiency rules for appliances. 

One of the bills Trump signed in the Oval Office repealed the Energy Department’s regulation that set more stringent standards for commercial refrigerators, freezers, and refrigerator-freezers under its Energy Conservation Program, which aims to reduce energy consumption and emissions. 

Recommended Stories

• FEMA leader fired after undercutting Trump in testimony: Leavitt
• California gas could reach $8 by 2026 due to refinery closures and regulation: Report
• FEMA leader fired 1 day after testifying agency should not be shut down

Rep. Craig Goldman (R-TX) introduced the bill, telling the Washington Examiner that the rule is an example of the “government getting involved in an area of American people’s lives that they should not be in.” 

He added that when the government mandates how commercial refrigerators are made, it interferes with the market and results in higher prices for businesses, ultimately falling on the consumer. 

“We don’t need the government telling us what to do, how to live our lives, and certainly mandating how commercial refrigerators should be built,” Goldman said. 

In addition, Trump signed two other pieces of legislation: Rep. Gary Palmer’s (R-AL) bill to undo DOE standards on gas-fired water heaters and Rep. Andrew Clyde’s (R-GA) bill to repeal an energy conservation program run by the DOE that grants appliances a label that shows consumers they are energy-efficient. 

Republicans have argued that energy efficiency standards on appliances set by Democrats and the Biden administration limit consumer choice and raise costs. 

Goldman said the “American people turned down” the Biden administration’s regulations and policies, citing the Republican-controlled Congress and White House. 

“One by one, we have to turn back those policies and government regulations like this very bill that the president’s going to sign today,” Goldman said. 

CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW ACT: WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE TOOL REPUBLICANS HOPE TO USE TO UNDO BIDEN RULES

Each of these bills was introduced through the Congressional Review Act, a special legislative tool that allows lawmakers to bypass a filibuster and vote in a simple majority in both chambers to eliminate a federal regulation. 

GOP lawmakers have used this legislative tool to repeal the Biden administration’s energy and climate regulations that are not aligned with the current administration’s agenda. Trump has now signed six CRAs into law.