Trump is set to eliminate restrictions on plastic straws, announcing that he will sign an executive order next week to overturn the Biden administration’s push for paper straws.
In a Truth Social post on Friday, Trump criticized paper alternatives, calling them ineffective. “I will be signing an Executive Order next week ending the ridiculous Biden push for Paper Straws, which don’t work. BACK TO PLASTIC!” he wrote.
The move reverses a 2022 Department of the Interior policy that sought to phase out all single-use plastics—including straws, bottles, and food containers—on federal lands by 2032. Biden’s executive order, “Catalyzing Clean Energy Industries and Jobs Through Federal Sustainability,” directed federal agencies to reduce waste and promote recycled products, but Trump rescinded the order on his first day back in office last month.
While paper straws are considered more environmentally friendly, they are widely disliked by consumers for dissolving quickly. Trump and Republicans have long used them as a symbol of government overreach, arguing that Democrat-led environmental policies hurt everyday Americans.
During his 2020 campaign, Trump’s team even sold Trump-branded plastic straws, mocking paper alternatives with the slogan: “Liberal paper straws don’t work.”
