By Charles Switzer
12:46am PDT, Apr 11, 2025
Trump Cites His 'Beautiful Hair' as He Moves to End Water Flow Restrictions
President
Donald Trump has once again targeted water conservation rules, this time through a new executive order signed Wednesday, April 9, that lifts restrictions on water flow through common household appliances,
Associated Press reported.
These standards, originally intended to conserve water and energy, limited the number of gallons per minute that could flow through fixtures like showerheads, toilets, dishwashers and washing machines.
"I like to take a nice shower, take care of my beautiful hair," Trump said at the signing ceremony. "I have to stand in the shower for 15 minutes until it gets wet. Comes out drip, drip, drip. It's ridiculous."
Here's why Trump decided to sign his "Make America's Showers Great Again" order.
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A Reversal of Obama and Biden-Era Standards
The new order instructs Energy Secretary
Chris Wright to eliminate what Donald Trump referred to as an "overly complicated federal rule" that defined and restricted water flow from showerheads and other appliances during the
Barack Obama and
Joe Biden administrations.
Trump had previously relaxed these rules in his first term, only to see them reinstated by former President Biden.
"What you do is you end up washing your hands five times longer, so it's the same water," Trump added. "And we're going to open it up so that people can live."
The White House's Position
The administration criticized past efficiency rules for making everyday appliances unnecessarily complex. According to a White House fact sheet: "The regulations turned a basic household item into a bureaucratic nightmare. No longer will showerheads be weak and worthless."
The executive order signals a renewed push from the second Donald Trump admin to undo
federal mandates that it claims prioritize red tape over usability, even as advocates say the standards serve a greater environmental and economic purpose.
Response from Energy Efficiency Advocates
Not everyone is on board with the rollback.
The Appliance Standards Awareness Project (ASAP), which supports energy efficiency measures, argued that these regulations have helped cut costs for families while conserving resources.
Showers, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, account for roughly 20 percent of the typical American family's daily indoor
water usage. Since water heating consumes significant energy, more efficient fixtures offer added savings.
Andrew deLaski, executive director of ASAP, responded to Donald Trump's order by saying, "Consumer reviews consistently show that most showerheads currently sold provide a great drenching. So there isn't a problem to be solved here with the showerheads available today."
Skepticism Over Practical Impact
Andrew DeLaski also dismissed the move as political theater. He called Donald Trump's order "a gimmick designed to get around a 1992 energy efficiency law," AP notes, and he predicted a similar result to Trump's actions during his first term, "when no major showerhead manufacturer made significant changes to their products."
Despite the attention-grabbing rhetoric, industry trends suggest that the practical effect of the order may be limited — just as it was the last time Trump pursued similar deregulation.
