Why Trump’s Showerhead Rollbacks Struck a Chord

If Donald Trump is anything, he’s consistent—especially in his disdain for low-flow plumbing fixtures.

Throughout his first term, the president took up arms against appliances he believed prioritized environmental efficiency at the expense of actual performance. From the rally stage, he repeatedly mocked dishwashers that failed to clean, toilets that required multiple flushes, and faucets that barely trickled water.

This personal vendetta translated into policy. His administration issued executive orders easing restrictions on manufacturers—rolling back regulations driven by environmental groups and the politicians who cater to them. The move drew scorn from elite commentators and late-night hosts, who saw the effort as another example of Trumpian absurdity.

In 2019, NPR mocked Trump’s nostalgia for an era of powerful showers, 4-gallon-per-flush toilets, and scorching lightbulbs. But what critics dismissed as a quirk could also be viewed as a reflection of common frustrations—Americans longing for a time when plumbing did its job without compromise. Back when people didn’t need to second-guess whether a flush was enough, when dishwashers cleaned thoroughly without disabling eco-settings or rewashing by hand, and when “efficiency” referred to doing a job well—not simply using fewer resources.

When Biden took office, his administration swiftly reversed Trump’s water flow orders—pleasing climate activists but potentially irritating average consumers. “The good news is there was no clamoring for products that took advantage of this,” one energy conservationist claimed in 2021. But as Faulkner said, the past isn’t dead—it’s not even past.

In 2020, the Trump White House had boldly declared: “No longer will showerheads be weak and worthless.” His administration redefined the federal plumbing rules, allowing each nozzle in a multi-head shower to release up to 2.5 gallons per minute—undoing the Obama-era interpretation that capped total output regardless of nozzle count. Critics rolled their eyes, but Trump’s stance may be more aligned with public sentiment than they care to admit.

According to a 2022 report from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, two-thirds of consumers prefer higher water pressure in their showers. Other surveys show lower satisfaction with low-flow fixtures across the board—from showers to dishwashers to toilets. Many Americans are open to greener appliances, but only if they work. Too often, they fall short.

And let’s be honest: it’s absurd that such a dense web of federal regulations exists around something as mundane as plumbing flow rates. Since the 1990s, federal law has capped showerhead flow at 2.5 gallons per minute. In 2013, the Obama administration doubled down by redefining “showerhead” to ensure that limit applied collectively to multi-nozzle systems. The Trump administration’s 2020 rule simply restored common sense—treating each nozzle as a separate outlet.

Forget the philosophical question of whether Washington should have any say in how much water Americans use in the privacy of their bathrooms. At the very least, the federal government should let consumers choose the water flow that meets their needs.