Environmental Protection Agency

‘I Can't Even': Emails Reveal EPA Officials' Reaction to Trump Rant on Toilets, Showers

The president's claims about water pressure caught the attention of his environmental agency

President Donald Trump at Battle Creek, Michigan rally
Jeff Kowalsky/AFP via Getty Images

When the top EPA official overseeing its WaterSense program first heard President Donald Trump's rant about toilets that must be flushed a dozen times and modern faucets that only provide drips of water, she was at a loss for words, NBC News reports.

"I can't even," Veronica Blette, the chief of WaterSense in the EPA's Office of Wastewater Management, emailed a handful of colleagues on Dec. 6, attaching a video of the president's remarks. Sending another tweet highlighting Trump's comments to coworkers, Blette wrote: "Sigh."

The emails were provided to NBC News in response to a Freedom of Information Act request. The emails showed part of the agency's response to what were eye-opening remarks from the president — ones he would revisit at future campaign rallies — in which he railed against the federal regulations governing toilets, showers, sinks and dishwashers.

Speaking to reporters at the White House in early December, Trump said the EPA would be "looking very strongly at sinks and showers and other elements of bathrooms," at his direction, insisting that "people are flushing toilets 10 times, 15 times as opposed to once" and that "they end up using more water."

Read the full story on NBCNews.com

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