WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump finally addressed an issue that has bothered him for years. On Wednesday, he signed an executive order "maintaining acceptable water pressure in showerheads" and roll back water efficiency standards on appliances.
Saying “overregulation chokes the American economy and stifles personal freedom,” Trump directed Energy Secretary Chris Wright to publish a notice in the Federal Register rescinding the Energy Conservation Program’s definition of a showerhead.
“I like to take a nice shower to take care of my beautiful hair,” he said at the Oval Office Wednesday. “You have to stand under a shower for 15 minutes until it gets wet. It comes out drip drip drip. It’s ridiculous.”
The executive order complained of “multi-thousand-word regulations defining the word ‘showerhead,’” and blaming the Obama and Biden administration for a “war on showers.”
Since 2013, the Department of Energy has defined a showerhead as "a component or set of components distributed in commerce for attachment to a single supply fitting, for spraying water onto a bather, typically from an overhead position, excluding safety shower showerheads."
Earlier on Wednesday, billionaire presidential adviser Elon Musk hinted at the executive order on X, writing, “Make showers great again!” His post linked to an article about the Energy Policy Act Congress passed in 1992 to cap showers at 2.5 gallons per minute to conserve water.
The article said the regulations “killed one of the simplest human joys. You know the feeling: lukewarm mist, high pressure but no weight.”
The rescission of the showerhead definition will take effect 30 days after Wright publishes his notice, according to the executive order.
Trump signs another executive order targeting law firm
Trump also signed another executive order targeting a law firm whose work he opposes.
The latest one applies to Susman Godfrey, whose lawyers represented Dominion Voting Systems in a lawsuit that accused Fox News of falsely claiming that the company rigged the 2020 presidential election. Fox News ultimately agreed to pay nearly $800 million to avoid trial.
White House staff secretary Will Scharf said the order will mean that the firm cannot use government resources or buildings.
Trump has issued a series of orders meant to punish firms, including by ordering the suspension of lawyers’ security clearances and revoking federal contracts. He has succeeded in extracting concessions from some that have settled, but others have successfully challenged the orders in court.
Trump praises Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer
The president called Whitmer a “very good person” who has done an “excellent job.”
The remark came with the governor in the Oval Office as Trump signed executive orders and attacked political opponents.
The remarks marked a sharp departure from his tone in his first presidency toward Whitmer, once one of his fiercest critics.
Since his reelection Whitmer has signaled a willingness to find common ground. Hours before the meeting, she delivered a speech voicing partial support for tariffs — though she criticized how Trump had carried them out.
