The Trump administration declared a victory over air pollution in Sheboygan, Wisconsin this week—a timely win given recent polls showing that voters view environmental protection to be President Trump’s greatest vulnerability.
It is not clear if Trump’s weak standing in Wisconsin polls will be helped by the announcement that a portion of Sheboygan County, a chronic smog hot spot, has met federal air quality standards. But the declaration, made Tuesday by Environmental Protection Agency administrator Andrew Wheeler in the last of three tours of swing states so far this month, reveals much about the administration’s strategy for putting a green veneer on its record of relentlessly rolling back environmental protections.