Trump orders toilet review: Americans are ‘flushing toilets 10 times, 15 times’

Savannah Behrmann | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption President Trump: 'People are flushing toilets 10 times, 15 times’ President Donald Trump said that the Environmental Protection Agency is "looking at" the issue at "his suggestion."

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump said he wants a nationwide review of water efficiency standards because of issues with “sinks and showers and other elements of bathrooms” across the country.

“People are flushing toilets 10 times, 15 times as opposed to once. They end up using more water,” Trump said, continuing that the Environmental Protection Agency is "looking at" the issue at "his suggestion."

“We have a situation where we’re looking very strongly at sinks and showers and other elements of bathrooms, where you turn the faucet on in areas where there’s tremendous amounts of water, where it rushes out to sea because you could never handle it. And you don’t get any water. You turn on the faucet and you don’t get any water,” Trump said during the White House round-table on small business and red tape reduction.

EPA spokesman Michael Abboud told USA TODAY that the “EPA is working with all federal partners including Department of Energy to review the implementation of the Federal Energy Management Plan and how its relevant programs interact with it to ensure American consumers have more choice when purchasing water products.”

TRUMP wants to deregulate water systems: "We have a situation where we're looking very strongly at sinks & showers...where you turn the faucet on [&] you don't get any water. They take a shower & water comes dripping out...We are looking very seriously at opening up the standard" pic.twitter.com/VZpD1jXiND — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) December 6, 2019

Trump said they're looking at "opening up the standard" of water-saving regulations, noting that "there may be some areas where we'll go the other route — desert areas. But for the most part, you have many states where they have so much water that it comes down — it's called rain — that they don't know, they don't know what to do with it."

"So we're going to be opening up that, I believe. And we're looking at changing the standards very soon," the president stated.

The EPA’s website states every drop counts because “water managers in at least 40 states expect local, statewide, or regional water shortages to occur over the next several years.”

Trump also quipped that the White House would need to change out the lightbulbs because the new ones "give you an orange look." He has made similar comments before and complained about the energy efficiency requirements directed under former President Barack Obama.

"The new bulb is many times more expensive, and, I hate to say it, it doesn't make you look as good," Trump said. "Of course, being a vain person, that's very important to me. It gives you an orange look. I don't want an orange look. Has anyone noticed that?"

Trump has been rolling back regulations since taking office, particularly taking aim at many environmental rules formed during the Obama administration.