# Trump's methane rollback hands polluters a free pass

> The administration's decision to gut federal methane protections will increase air pollution near oil and gas wells where nearly 18 million Americans already live.
- Title: Trump's methane rollback hands polluters a free pass · TIME
- Summary: The administration's decision to gut federal methane protections will increase air pollution near oil and gas wells where nearly 18 million Americans already…
- Keywords: donald trump, methane protections, environmental protection agency, fossil fuel industry, air pollution, climate change, oil and gas, public health, TIME
- Source: TIME — https://time.com/article/2026/11/06/you-can-t-make-america-healthy-by-letting-polluters-off-the-hook
- Author: Elizabeth Bechard
- Published: 2026-11-06T11:00:04.424+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: donald trump, methane protections, environmental protection agency, fossil fuel industry, air pollution, climate change, oil and gas, public health, news, world
## Trump guts methane protections
President Donald Trump announced his administration will eliminate federal methane protections. He claimed this benefits consumers, but the real winners are polluters avoiding emissions limits.

> the real winners are polluters
## Part of a broader rollback
This follows the administration's recent repeal of limits on climate pollution from fossil fuel power plants. Both actions attack climate protections at a moment they are most needed.
## Millions already live near wells
Nearly eighteen million people in the United States, including more than one million young children, live near oil and gas wells.
## Public supports strong protections
Recent polling finds broad support for methane protections. Across California, Colorado, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, and Texas, seventy-two percent support their state adopting stringent rules to reduce methane emissions from the oil and gas industry.
## Methane accelerates climate harms
Methane is a potent climate pollutant that accelerates global warming far faster than carbon dioxide over a twenty-year timeframe.This drives health harms including extreme heat, heat-related illnesses, worsened air pollution, asthma, and poor birth outcomes.
## Parents demand accountability
Mothers and caregivers say the administration's rollback contradicts its messaging on making American families healthy. They will keep demanding the EPA protect children's health and futures over record profits for the fossil fuel industry.

> protecting our children's health and their futures matters more than record profits for the fossil fuel industry
## Key takeaway

President Trump's plan to eliminate federal methane protections benefits fossil fuel companies while exposing millions of Americans, including over one million children, to increased toxic air pollution.