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ProPublicaonX / Twitter12h ago
Aaron Szabo, the Trump EPA official leading an effort to loosen rules on methane pollution, was an unnamed author of key oil industry arguments against those same rules just four years ago when he was an oil and gas lobbyist, metadata shows.
propublica.org/article/trump-…
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Claim Accuracy92%
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Context80%
Analysis Summary
Aaron Szabo, now head of EPA air quality rules, authored secret objections to methane pollution controls in 2022 while he was a lobbyist for oil companies — the same rules he now oversees loosening. ProPublica found his name in PDF metadata of an industry trade group's letter pushing back on Biden-era regulations. Now in his EPA role, emails show Szabo is taking input directly from oil companies on how to water down those same methane standards. This is a clean conflict of interest: the regulator and the regulated entity he previously represented are now aligned on the same deregulatory goal.
Claims Analysis (4)
“Aaron Szabo, the Trump EPA official leading an effort to loosen rules on methane pollution, was an unnamed author of key oil industry arguments against those same rules just four years ago when he was an oil and gas lobbyist”
ProPublica traced Szabo's name in PDF metadata of AXPC's January 2022 comment letter objecting to EPA methane controls. Szabo was registered lobbyist for Ovintiv at the time.
“Szabo is now an assistant administrator at the Environmental Protection Agency leading efforts to revise methane regulations”
Confirmed in linked article. Szabo holds position as head of EPA's Office of Air and Radiation under Trump administration.
“Szabo's office is soliciting input and specific regulatory language from oil industry groups that stand to gain from watered-down methane rules”
ProPublica reviewed internal emails, calendar entries and records of closed-door conversations supporting this claim.
“The Trump administration has waged an unprecedented campaign against regulations on fossil fuels”
Guardian reporting and Trump administration memos confirm aggressive shift toward deregulation of oil, coal, and gas production.
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