Trump EPA issues science transparency restrictions that could tie Biden’s hands

The Trump administration is restricting the type of science that the Environmental Protection Agency can use to set policy in a move environmentalists and public health experts say could keep the Biden team from setting stricter pollution standards.

The rulemaking, which EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler unveiled Tuesday during a virtual event with the libertarian Competitive Enterprise Institute, would require the agency to give more consideration to scientific studies for which the underlying data is publicly available. The rule will take effect immediately when it is published Wednesday.