"The enforcement plunge is part of a deregulatory push across the government as the administration seeks to boost fossil fuels."
"The Trump administration slashed pipeline safety enforcement in 2025, bringing about half the average number of cases as in previous years.
The change reduces pressure on an industry that includes some of President Donald Trump’s biggest financial supporters and sits at the center of his “energy dominance” agenda. It’s also part of a broader retreat across the federal government from policing companies’ environmental, safety and financial activities.
“In an administration with a president who has emphasized, as this one has, that he thinks there is too much regulation, reducing enforcement activity is an easy and unreviewable way to lessen immediate regulatory burdens,” said Cary Coglianese, a law professor at the University of Pennsylvania who heads the Penn Program on Regulation.
But less enforcement by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration risks eroding support for the many pipelines and natural gas export facilities Trump wants to see built — if people who live near them don’t think regulations will keep them safe from explosions and other dangers."
Mike Soraghan reports for E&E News January 15, 2026.
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