Click for more from The Hill.{beacon} Energy & Environment Energy & Environment   The Big Story  Trump talks tough on toxics but is rolling back rules President Trump has repeatedly said he’ll take on toxic chemicals — but many of his administration’s actions are expected to allow for more pollution, not less. © Associated Press pool During his joint address to Congress earlier this month, Trump talked about a boy whose cancer he blamed on a chemical exposure, saying that reversing the rise in child cancer rates in recent decades is “one of the top priorities for our new presidential commission to Make America Healthy Again.” Trump has also adopted his Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s “Make America Healthy Again” slogan — saying he’ll take on toxic substances that threaten Americans’ well-being.  “President Trump is committed to replacing unclean foreign energy with the liquid gold under our feet while Making America Healthy Again by ridding our environment, water, and food supply of dangerous toxins,” White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers said in an email.  Weeks into Trump’s second term, the Department of Health and Human Services does appear poised to move toward chemical regulation in food.  But the administration has also taken significant steps to abandon or roll back efforts to reduce exposure to potentially toxic substances.  Last week, it dropped a lawsuit that aimed to force a company to reduce its emissions of a substance the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) considers likely to cause cancer in an already highly polluted area.  The administration also indicated that it is likely to reduce the stringency of safety screenings for potentially harmful chemicals.  Among the chemicals that are currently undergoing the screening process is vinyl chloride, a toxic substance used to make PVC plastic that was released, along with other chemicals, in a train derailment in Ohio in 2023. Trump repeatedly bashed the Biden administration’s response to the crash on the campaign trail last year.   Last week, the EPA also announced a broad slate of environmental rollbacks. Among the regulations the agency says it may reverse is a Biden-era rule regulating emissions of the carcinogen ethylene oxide, which is used to sterilize medical devices.   In January, the EPA also withdrew Biden-era plans to put a limit on the amount of “forever chemicals” that manufacturers are allowed to release into the water.  Read more at TheHill.com.  Welcome to The Hill’s Energy & Environment newsletter, I'm Rachel Frazin  — keeping you up to speed on the policies impacting everything from oil and gas to new supply chains.  Did someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here.   Essential Reads  How policy will affect the energy and environment sectors now and in the future: Fired workers return to federal agencies — but are put on paid leaveAs a result of recent court orders, federal employees are returning to their jobs — but are being put on paid leave.  Full Story   HUD, Interior announce plan to use federal land for affordable housingDepartment of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner and Department of the Interior Secretary Doug Burgum announced on Monday plans to identify federal lands where affordable housing could be built.  Full Story   White House says it will eliminate national monuments — then scrubs the announcement The White House said Friday night that it would eliminate protections from millions of acres declared by former President Biden as national monuments — but later scrubbed that language from its fact sheet.  Full Story   In Other News  Branch out with a different read from The Hill: Texans grapple with rising toxic pollution as oil, gas production booms ODESSA, Texas — For retired pastor Columbus Cooper, life can be divided into two periods: the time when he could still drink water out of his tap, and the time after. Full Story   What We're Reading  News we've flagged from other outlets touching on energy issues, the environment and other topics: Trump Halted an Agent Orange Cleanup. That Puts Hundreds of Thousands at Risk for Poisoning. (ProPublica) What went wrong the night Altadena burned (The Washington Post) Climate Change Science Atop Mauna Loa Could Stall Amid Federal Cuts (Honolulu Civil Beat)   What Others are Reading  Two key stories on The Hill right now: Trump ‘disappointed,’ vows to ‘fix’ Kennedy Center after first tour President Trump says he’s “disappointed” with what he saw while touring the Kennedy Center for the first time after naming himself chair of the performing arts institution as part of an unprecedented overhaul, vowing to fix up a place he says “represents a very important part” of both Washington and the country. Read more Jan. 6 investigators hit back at Trump over pardon threat: ‘Do it. Or shut up’ The members of the Jan. 6 investigative committee are hitting back at President Trump for his threat to nullify the presidential pardons surrounding their work. Read more  Opinions in The Hill  Op-ed related to energy & environment submitted to The Hill: Trump is tackling every ‘emergency’ except the important one — climate change    You're all caught up. See you tomorrow! Check out The Hill's Energy & Environment page for the latest coverage. Like this newsletter? Take a moment to view our other topical products here 📩 Close Thank you for signing up! Subscribe to more newsletters here The latest in politics and policy. Direct to your inbox. Sign up for the Energy and Environment newsletter Subscribe ...read more read less