Two prominent Republican senators are calling on the Trump administration to aggressively intervene against new European Union environmental regulations, arguing the rules amount to a “gross overstep” that lets foreign bureaucrats dictate American energy policy.
In a letter dated December 17, 2025, U.S. Senators Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and John Kennedy (R-La.) urged top cabinet officials—including Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick—to pressure the EU into repealing the European Union Methane Regulation (EUMR).
The senators contend the regulation violates U.S. sovereignty and threatens the stability of the American liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry.
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The EUMR, which began a phased rollout in August 2024, is part of Europe’s broader “Green New Deal.” It aims to curb methane emissions not just within Europe, but across its global supply chain. By 2030, the regulations will require foreign energy producers exporting to the bloc to meet strict “methane intensity” standards set in Brussels.
Cruz and Kennedy argue that this effectively gives European regulators control over U.S. domestic production.
“When fully phased in… this provision, if allowed to go into effect, would mean that regulators in Paris, Berlin, and Brussels would tell operators in Midland and Pittsburgh how, when, and where to produce energy,” the senators wrote.
The letter frames the dispute as both an economic and geopolitical liability. The senators pointed out that U.S. LNG exports were critical in keeping the lights on across Europe following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. They warned that if the new methane rules act as a “non-tariff trade barrier” blocking American gas, Europe might be forced to return to Russian energy dependence, undermining security in the region.
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Beyond the political implications, the letter highlights practical hurdles for the industry. Because exporters buy natural gas from various basins—such as the Permian or the Marcellus—and mix it in pipelines before it reaches export terminals, the senators argue it is “infeasible” to track specific gas molecules from the wellhead to the ship to verify compliance with EU data demands.
The letter was addressed to Secretaries Wright, Lutnick, and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, as well as U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Jamieson Greer. It explicitly calls on them to use “all available legal, diplomatic, and economic tools” during upcoming trade implementation meetings to ensure the regulation is scrapped.
“Any attempt to extend such regulations to U.S. producers represents a clear and provocative attempt to supersede America’s sovereign right to regulate… its own energy supply,” the letter concludes.
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