This industry/regulator alignment is clearest at DOT's pipeline safety office. It's put out a flurry of deregulatory proposals, many signed by one Trump appointee: Ben Kochman.

Until January, he worked for a pipeline trade group.

One proposal cribs language from his old employer.

Take road safety. The last admin pushed rules for speed limiters+side guards in big rigs and automatic emergency braking in cars+trucks—est. to save 1k lives annually.

After industry blowback, the Trump admin has killed, made plans to weaken or signaled delays/changes for each.

NEW: Sean Duffy frequently calls safety his “top priority” as transportation secretary. But I spent months wading through regulatory notices and found something far different: that USDOT has been delaying, weakening and killing dozens of safety rules, many opposed by the transportation industry.🧵