Trump Administration Brings in Last-Minute Change to Showerhead Regulations – One of the President’s Pet Peeves

President Donald Trump’s administration has rushed to finalize changes in regulations governing water flow in shower heads, an issue the president has raised repeatedly and which has become known as one of his major pet peeves.

Previously, showerheads were subject to a two-and-a-half-gallon-per-minute maximum flow rate, while each individual showerhead in a fixture counted collectively toward the rate. Under the rule change, each individual showerhead in a fixture will be legally able to reach the maximum rate, increasing the overall rate for the fixture.

“Today the Trump Administration affirmed its commitment to reducing regulatory burdens and safeguarding consumer choice,” said Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette in a statement. “With these rule changes, Americans can choose products that are best suited to meet their individual needs and the needs of their families.”

The president has offered frequent complaints about showerheads during campaign speeches – something that has baffled some observers. However, it appears the regulatory change could now be part of Trump’s legacy, unless the next administration reverses the policy.

“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 — and in areas where there’s tremendous amounts of water, where the water rushes out to sea because you could never handle it, and you don’t get any water,” Trump said in December 2019.

“You turn on the faucet and you don’t get any water. They take a shower and water comes dripping out. Just dripping out, very quietly dripping out,” he said. Trump also famously added: “People are flushing toilets 10 times, 15 times, as opposed to once.”