President Trump this week signed an executive order designed to roll back environmental regulations that protect the world's oceans — and handed himself a business win in the process.
The executive order aims to "facilitate the economic growth of coastal communities and promote ocean industries," which, incidentally, include his own Trump-branded hotels and golf clubs. "Growing the ocean economy" could also grow his own profit margins, as many of his businesses rely heavily on coastal and ocean regulations, research gathered by Citizen Vox shows.
Trump loves to boast about his properties all over the world, some of which offer "spectacular panoramic Pacific Ocean views," and many of which are affected by environmental regulations that the golfing industry has vociferously opposed, deploying lobbyists to push against water and pesticide rules that rack up expenses for business owners.
Environmental groups in Chicago moved to sue one of Trump's hotels just days ago, accusing the company of violating clean water regulations and endangering fish and other wildlife in the area. Tuesday's executive order eliminates several regional planning bodies that were designed to keep an eye on local bodies of water and apply federal laws accordingly.
Critics like Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.) have decried Trump's regulatory rollbacks, explaining how much Trump stands to profit from his time in office given that he has refused to divest fully from his business empire. Scrapping rules designed to protect bodies of water is explicitly intended to benefit the business community, and Trump explains as much in his executive order — without including the little detail that that community is one to which he belongs.