President Trump's top advisers are split on whether Trump should pull out of the global Paris climate agreement signed in 2015, but after two meetings — one with relevant Cabinet officials and top aides last Thursday and another with administration lawyers on Monday — those advocating for scrapping the landmark deal "have gained the upper hand," The Washington Post reports, citing "participants in the discussions and those briefed on the deliberations."
The momentum away from staying in the climate pact reportedly started with White House counsel Don McGahn, who is arguing that staying in the agreement will cause legal headaches for Trump as he works to unwind former President Barack Obama's clean-energy programs; State Department lawyers, previous White House counsels, and international diplomats strenuously disagree with that interpretation, saying nothing in the Paris accord prevents any of the 194 signatory nations from reducing targets for reducing greenhouse-gas emissions.
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